Frankly speaking, I was not looking forward to this film. In the past 2-3 years Jyotika has not been giving her best work. In fact I can say, they have been pretty mediocre. So, I thought it was a good move by Suriya's 2D Entertainments and Jyotika to premier this film on Amazon Prime Video today. So, did this courtroom drama surprise me or is it what I expected? Here is my take on Pon Magal Vandhal:
Pon Magal Vandhal is a 2020 Tamil courtroom drama starring Jyotika, R. Parthiban in lead roles. It is directed by JJ Frederick. The story is about Venba and how she proves Jothi who is termed a serial killer innocent.
The screenplay is very mixed. First of all, the story and messaging of the film is very good and noble. They could have helped the film to be a very strong courtroom drama. But, several aspects of the screenplay actually weigh the film down from its absolute potential. The comic touch given to some scenes in the beginning were unnecessary as in they water down the intensity of the first 5 minutes which were very well staged. Then, the court scenes themselves. They were not so strong as they should be. They run on emotions rather than running on evidences. These scenes could have made sense if the director would have made it clear with evidences. Also, this film repeats the crime story 2 times. Not kidding, the same crime story is repeated two times. Once it is told to us by Jyotika and the other one it is shown to us with Jyotika's narration. This really frustrated me. So, this film has a very good story and a very noble message but it is botched down with the glaring flaws in the screenplay.
The acting department too reflects the flaws of the screenplay. I am not a big fan of Jyotika. She tends to overact when the situation demands subtle emotions. In this film too, it shows. While dark imagery is being shown in the background, the goofy over action of her really puts me off the mood of the scene. But, I have to say, her acting as a lawyer was good. Considering all aspects though, she is not the perfect fit for this role. R. Parthiban as the prosecutor is the best this film offers. His body language, expressions blend in well with the natural demeanour of the actor to give his role some respect. Other actors in the film do serviceable jobs in the film. The junior actors in this film like any other Tamil film overact a lot which is also a flaw for the film.
The technical department was perfectly serviceable. The cinematography and editing were functional but I feel they could make full use of a beautiful location like Ooty. The music by Govind Vasantha is nice. I like the Ilayaraaja touch he gives to his music. I have a question for the creative team of the film? Would bronza make the lead actor look like a village person? I ask this because I was not able to convince myself that Jyotika was a village lady migrated from Jaipur. The costume-design too was fine.
Overall, I would say that this film is best suited for OTT. It is a perfectly serviceable courtroom drama that you can pass time with. The messaging and story gets full points but the screenplay was not upto the mark and the acting except Parthiban was lacklustre. So, if you want the film you have to lower your expectations a fair bit.
My Rating : 5.5/10
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