PONMAGAL VANDHAL

Ponmagal Vandhal is a legal drama film written and directed by JJ Frederick, that has Jyothika in the lead role, while Bhagyaraj, Parthiepan, Thiagarajan, Prathap Pothen, Pandiarajan, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan and others play crucial supporting roles. It is produced by Suriya under the banner 2D Entertainment and has music by Govind Vasantha, and cinematography by Ramji. 

A woman named Jyoti is accused of kidnapping and killing a lot of children, and is convicted by the court. The case is reopened by 'Petitioner' Pethuraj (Bhagyaraj), and Venba (Jyothika). She is challenged by the prosecutor Rajarathinam, played by Parthiepan. How she brings justice to Jothi forms the rest of the story. 

One of the major advantages of the film is the OTT release, which means there need not be any commercial compromises. It stays focussed right from the first frame and gets into the scheme of things pretty quickly. Although Jyothika powers the film with her performance, the supporting cast chip in with strong performances, especially the likes of Parthiepan and Bhagyaraj. 

The initial portions of the film are a delight to watch, and they are crafted beautifully. The famous 'Ek gaon mein, Ek Kisaan Raghu Thatha' joke from Bhagyaraj's own Indru Poi Naalai Vaa is recreated, we see Venba amusing kids with magic, and also teaching them safe and unsafe touches through a lot of activities. Till the end of the first half, the court proceedings are brisk, and there is no lag. The foundation for the second half is also set up beautifully, with a big twist right before the interval. However, due to the screenplay issues, the film loses steam in the second half.

Till the midway point of the second half, the film sticks to the courtroom genre, but suddenly we see Venba delivering an emotional monologue highlighting the pain victims of rape undergo. Now, this can be compared to Ajith's monologue in Nerkonda Paarvai, but the difference is that it is the closing argument in the latter, whereas, in this film, it comes before we are legally convinced that Jyoti is innocent. Had the monologue been placed in the climax, the impact would have been larger. 

This film is also set in Jyothika's universe, where she turns into a crusader for the victims of the system and the oppressed women. Here too she follows suit, and the plot subtly points out the instances of sexism we witness in everyday life. It also shows how the lawyers in courts constantly resort to character assassination while arguing against female lawyers, which is quite novel. It is not every day you see a female lawyer fighting for justice in Tamil cinema, which by itself is a welcome change. 

Another reason why the film basically works is the music of Govind Vasantha. His expertise in the violin is well-known and the way he's used it in the emotional scenes adds on to the drama so much. The songs don't disturb the flow because of its pleasing to the ear nature, and also because they're used as montages. Ramji has done a neat cinematography, that works well for the genre.

The film carries a very important message against child sexual abuse, and when a woman speaks about it, it becomes even more hard-hitting. It is necessary to keep making films like these, where the society is educated about the nuances associated with taboo topics like rape and sexual abuse. Overall, a definitely watchable film for Jyothika's performance, and the strong message conveyed. 

1. Vaa Chellam
Singers: Brinda Sivakumar 
Lyrics: Vivek

Govind Vasantha has this knack for creating very rich music without trying too much out of the ordinary. Similarly, here he weaves this simple yet powerful melody which has traces of the Raga Reetigowla. Brinda delivers it with the right essence and thanks to the brilliant harmonies by Kamalaja, Roshni, Ala B Bala, and Deepthi Suresh, the song gets elevated. The flute interlude by the exponent Vishnu Vijay and mridangam by Shruthi spice up the traditional quotient and who better than Keba Jeremiah to deliver the guitar role in sync. Vivek’s lyrics are the final jigsaw in this wonderful puzzle.

2. Vaan Thooralgal 
Singers: Chinmayi
Lyrics: Uma Devi

The slow melody is one of those tough genres in music and Govind Vasantha has quite a knack to keep you going through one without boring. Vaan Thooralgal is one such song in this album, sung by Chinmayi. The orchestration has been kept simple, without much of an overlap with guitar and flute music highlighted. Chinmayi's voice and Uma Devi's lyrics compliment well to this tune. Govind has moulded a classical based touching melody with minimal orchestration beautifully.

3. Kalaigirathey Kanavey
Singers: Govind Vasantha
Lyrics: Uma Devi

The guitar opens the curtains with a mild strut before Govind showcases his magic touch with the violin. He then sings this song himself and sounds very much like Ananthu who modulates between a soft and strong modulation with immense ease. The fag end of the opening lines has a very uncanny resemblance with his uber hit from "96" called Life of Ram.

Keba Jeremiah with his electric guitar does a slowly solo in the interlude. Govind goes on to use his skills with gamakhas at the right places when the stanza begins and the harmony combining with Govind makes a nice second half to the stanza. The song abruptly ends here and that is why we ache and wish for more. A special mention is certainly needed for the really funky percussions.