Krishnaveni Panjaalai Movie Review

India's history can be divided into two- before and after globalization. Life was different in the period before 1990s. It was so simple and at the same time very hard. Joys and sorrows are twined together, due to various factors. Of late, there is a penchant in Tamil cinema to make period films, with a special focus on 1980s. Close on the heels of 'Subramanyapuram' 'Naanga' and other such movies, comes 'Krishnaveni Panjalai'.
 
Directed by newcomer Dhanapal Padmanabhan, 'Krishnaveni Panjalai' banks heavily on script and narration, as the lead actors are mostly debutants.
 
The director succeeds in taking the audience back to the bygone era, with major support coming in the form of set-props and costumes. However, the way scenes unfold becomes the lacunae, as they lack connectivity. As a result, a potent knot goes haywire as the film progresses, till the director storms back with a touching climax.
 
Kathir (Hemachandran) and Poongothai (Nandana) work together in a cotton mill called Krishnaveni Panjalai, which is run by a kind-hearted businessman (Rajiv Krishna).
 
Kathir conducts the marriage of Poongothai's elder sister, who falls in love with his friend. But the newly married are found dead under mysterious circumstances. While this poses a major hurdle to the affair of Kathir and Poongothai, the mill gets locked due to worker's dispute. What happens next is the crux of the film.
 
The movie which begins in the 1950s ends in 2007. Hemachandran and Poongothai fit well their respective roles, while veterans Bala Singh, Thennavan, M S Bhaskar are adequate. Rajeev Krishna adds value to his character.
 
Music by Raghunandan is noteworthy. So is camera work by Suresh Bhargav and Adhisayaraj. Dhanapal Padmanabhan makes a decent directorial debut. The film could have been much better, had he concentrated more on the screenplay.