This Pongal, Siruthai is a sure shot harvest for the senses. A commercial pot boiler with oodles of romance, comedy, action and emotion, the film keeps you riveted till the last shot and is a total paisa vasool. For Karthi, this is his fifth movie and a sure shot winner at the box office. The dual role as cop and thief is the highlight of the film with the actor having executed both with aplomb. The director deserves a pat on the back for his wonderful execution without going over the top in any aspect, leaving us with a nice feeling after walking out of the hall.

Ratnavel Pandian ( Karthi) is a tough and brave cop who cleans up the Kurnool village area in Andhra which is ruled by the bad guys Bavuji ( Avinash) and his son who are in cahoots with a local minister.

However he is wounded and almost dying thanks to a fight with the baddies, which prompts the police officers loyal to him to come up with a plan when they spot his look alike. The look alike is none other than a pickpocket called Rocket Raja ( Karthi) who robs anything under the sun along with his buddy Kaatapoochi ( Santhanam). The loyal officers give him the added responsibility of a kid Divya ( Rakshana) who is the daughter of the cop, who mistakes Raja to be her father. When Raja learns the truth about who the child is and what DSP Pandian has undergone, he vows revenge on the bad guys. He even abandons his love Swetha ( Tamannaah), a dumb girl who falls for him thinking he is a software engineer. How the two friends clean up the village and restore order to things forms the rest of the story. Does he win back his lady love? What happens to Pandian? See the film to find out!

Karthi is exemplary in the comic scenes and equally mesmerizing as the tough cop. Punch lines are aplenty and he carries off both roles with ease. His chemistry with Santhanam is a highlight and Tamannaah brings in the right amount of wit and beauty in the scenes. The music is foot tapping especially the Rocket Raja and Rakamma numbers and the picturisations of the songs including the Va va Chellam song are visual delights.

The story has been well handled with comedy being the mainstay while the stunts by Ganesh master are credible and well executed without being exaggerated.

Velraj’s camerawork helps a great deal in bringing out the nuances of the dual role and Tamannaah looks beautiful in the scenes she appears in. The screenplay is taut and from start to finish, the film keeps you intersested in what happens next.

A clean family entertainer all the way, the film could well be the first superhit of the year.

The flashback to present scenes is a bit confusing but you are enjoying yourself anyway so it doesn’t really matter in the long run. Though the formula used in the flick could appeal to the masses, the director could have thought of some fresh sequences to make the movie more exciting.