Pa Paandi

<p>Power Paandi, a former stuntman in , is now leading a retired life with his son Raghavan and family. Paandi is very close to his grandchildren Dhruv and Shaksha. He can not sit idle at home and gets involved in other issues outside his house, which brings trouble to Raghavan. He also tries to keep him occupied by going for some part-time jobs like a gym instructor, sidekick, and cinema stuntman, but nothing fulfills him. This brings friction between Paandi and Raghavan. Paandi, seeking his freedom, goes out of his house with his old and old-age savings. On his way, he sees a bunch of old people riding their bikes like him, and narrates his first love experience with them. He shares about how he, at his young age, met Poonthendral for the first time, how they fell in love, and how they were separated. He tells them that he is on a journey to find Poonthendral again. An old man in that group helps Paandi locate Poonthendral. Paandi messages Poonthendral, who has now settled in , as he was in her place and was eager to meet her again. Finally, Poonthendral agrees to meet him in a restaurant, and both of them meet, remembering all the by-gone days. They post their meetups on social media and express happiness for each other’s lives. Paandi proposes to Poonthendral that they live the rest of their lives together. Poonthendral, who was initially reluctant at his decision, later convinces herself about his companionship and asks him to come to her house the next day for lunch and to meet her family (her daughter and granddaughter). Back in , Raghavan realises his mistake and starts searching for his father everywhere. Dhruv locates Paandi using social media and finally comes to Poonthendral’s house in Hyderabad to take Paandi back with them. When Paandi comes to Poonthendral’s house for lunch, he gets reunited with Raghavan’s family. Poonthendral and Paandi realise that their lives have to go this way and decide to be in touch with each other for the rest of their lives. With many emotional bursts, Paandi leaves Poonthendral’s house with Raghavan, waving his hands in the air without seeing her, to which she responds. On 7 September 2016, announced his directorial debut titled , with a first look poster being released to the media, and also producing the film under his production house, Wunderbar Films. The film has playing the title role as “Power Paandi” and playing a prominent role, as Rajkiran’s son, while , and became a part of the film’s technical crew as its music composer, cinematographer and editor respectively. Actresses and agreed to work on the film. Dhanush too played a cameo role in this film as the younger version of the protagonist, while Madonna Sebastian plays Dhanush’s love inter- , , too play cameo appearances, along with and who also choreographed the action scenes and dance sequences. The film began production on the day of its public announcement, and in late February 2017. In April 2017, the title was shortened to to seek tax exemption. The music and score of the film were composed by Sean Roldan. In an official press meet for the film, Dhanush call Sean Roldan as the soul of , further adding that “It was so surprising to see that both our thoughts and creative expressions were same, which helped us bring out some good music with this film.” Most of the songs were melodious and nostalgic themes. Dhanush wrote and sang a number “Soorakaththu” for the film. The song “Venpani Malare” written by Dhanush, features both male and female versions sung by Sean Roldan and , and an additional version sung by Dhanush was released later. The tracklist was released on 25 February 2017, and the audio launch was held on 9 March 2017. An additional version of “Venpani Malare” which was sung by Dhanush was released separately on 6 April 2017. Siddharth K of rated the album 3 out of 5, with a verdict “Sean Roldan’s big ticket to the top league.” Surendhar MK of rated the album 4 out of 5. reviewed it as “One of the beautiful albums in recent times…” received critical acclaim. On the website , of 6 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. wrote for , “Here’s why Pa Paandi works. Rajkiran. He exudes such grandfatherly warmth, it’s impossible not to care for him. And as the second half unfolds, the story picks up too”. M Suganth of wrote, “In his directorial debut, Dhanush gives us a heartwarming film that, despite its conventional storytelling, packs in a huge emotional wallop”. wrote for , “At times, you do feel certain scenes could have been shot with a little more subtlety, but has enough going for it to make you ignore these gripes and enjoy this unusual little film”. Srivatsan of wrote, “Barring its flaws, is full of positivity. This better not be Dhanush’s best work, as a director”.</p>