Sam Anton’s Enakku Innoru Per Irukku revolves around a wastrel with a weakness. Johnny (GV Prakash) suffers from a bizarre disorder that causes him to go weak at his knees at the mere sight of blood. So naturally, he stays away from violence. He even considers joining a seminary to study theology and become a priest, a plan he dumps in a hurry when he comes across a pretty girl. Meanwhile, an ageing gangster lord in the city is in search of a suitable heir to his throne. As fate would have it, he zeroes in on Johnny. The peace-loving youngster has to rise to the expectations of his family, friends and society, and turn into a violent gangster.
A formulaic Kollywood comedy with an anti-hero at its centre.
*****
That GV Prakash has built an acting career for himself in Tamil is something Kollywood should never want to forgive itself for. Throughout the movie, he is either grossly over the top or largely inadequate; hamming it up generously in romantic scenes, comedy scenes, stunt scenes and all other sequences in between. As the lead in this movie, GV Prakash displays neither screen presence nor any acting skills of note.
Offsetting the miscast hero is a horde of comedians, young and old, who tirelessly pep up the otherwise bland and clichéd situations in the film. And Enakku Innoru Per Irukku has all kind of jokes – some racist, some sexist, some crass; mercifully it also has quite a few good ones. And lot of situational spoofs. The movie’s title is a nod to Rajini’s Baasha. Karunas plays Finger Babu, a goon who is an ardent fan of Baahubali. He switches to the Kilikili language whenever he gets excited. Yet another goon uses a Kabali reference to explain how powerful he is. Almost every scene comes with comical references to a well-known movie, and it works most of the time.
Recommended
Unsurprisingly for a GV Prakash movie, Enakku Innoru Per Irukku has a generous dose of female bashing, although not as grave as his prior films – Darling and Trisha Illana Nayanthara. Modern young women who date multiple guys. Women who shamelessly live off their boyfriends, whom they dump later. Curiously, these portions, which are inconsequential to the main plot, are received with hoots and laughter in the movie hall.
*****
Enakku Innoru Per Irukku, in spite its shortcomings, is better than the average Tamil comedy this year. It has a steady-paced narrative and effectively uses its big team of comedians – VTV Ganesh, Motta Rajendran and Yogi Babu, along with Karunas and Charlie.
And most importantly, it doesn’t aspire big. The movie is a mindless comedy, and it does not pretend to be anything but. That modesty sure deserves a pat on the back.
*****
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