‘Pannaiyarum Padminiyum’ a love story on four wheels

By Mythily Ramachandran

Here is a pannaiyar (landlord) who busts stereotypes.
Living in an obscure village of Tamil Nadu, his warm and unassuming nature earns him a special place in the hearts of the villagers. Always ready to help, he is a landlord who enjoys sharing his radio and television with the village folk. Even his landline is open to the public for use during emergencies. In short this pannaiyar is magnanimous to a fault. And who do you think takes advantage of his goodness?
His daughter, who is married now, often visits her parental house with the sole aim of taking back with her something she covets.
When her mother admonishes her for her scheming attitude, the pannaiyar chides his wife reminding her that she was their only child.
The pannaiyar’s life takes a new meaning with the arrival of Padmini, rather a Premier Padmini, a vintage car entrusted to him by his friend, who leaves the village on a holiday. 
Completely smitten by the new car, the pannaiyar behaves like a child with a new toy. And since he cannot drive, he asks Murugesan, a young man from the village to jump into the driver’s seat. For Murugesan too, it is love at first sight.
So when the pannaiyar wishes to learn driving he feels threatened and fears the day when he would become redundant. But all the pannaiyar wants is to drive his wife, Chellamma, to the temple on their wedding day. After that he assures Murugesan that he would not get into the driver’s seat. 
Debutant Arun Kumar’s feature grew from an earlier short film of a simple thread pivoted around a man’s love for a car.  Kumar’s story grows at its own pace like the vintage car, yet holding viewers’ attention with brilliant acting.
Carving his characters with a fondness Kumar has brushed them up with little quirks.  Peedai, the handy man at pannaiyar’s house who is despised for his remarks that always portends bad luck to others. Then there is the little boy who is fascinated by the car, everyday on way to school. He counts money to save Rs. Ten to pay Peedai, for that magical moment when he would get behind the wheels.
For a change, this film does not resort to toilet humour to tickle the funny bone. Situational comedy keeps viewers chuckling.
Kumar lets in a whiff of fresh air as he portrays the love between the pannaiyar and his wife. Teasing each other one moment and squabbling over trivia another time, this elderly couple’s love draws a smile.
Kumar’s players have their failings too. So besotted are the pannaiyar and his driver with Padmini, they start believing that she belongs to them. It is the landlord’s wife, who reminds her husband, that the car was theirs to keep only and ought to be returned to the owner when his daughter visits them.
If Vijay Sethupathy slipped into the role of Murugesan with the ease of a driver, Jaya Prakash played the perfect foil to him as the big hearted and naïve pannaiyar.  Bala Saravanan, who earned praise for playing the pannaiyar in the short film turns a different person altogether as Peedai. Thulasi as the pannaiyar’s wife delivers her character with aplomb and one that cannot be forgotten. And of course the two young women, who in brief significant brief roles, Neelima Rani as the pannaiyar’s daughter and  Aishwarya Rajesh as Malarvizhi, Murugesan’s love interest, leave their mark too.
Just go on this ride that will certainly leave you enthralled and at the end of it, if you are left wondering like the little boy about Padmini, you ought to blame Arun Kumar.