Mundane and mushy drama

kutti puli
Tamil (U/A) ¬¬
Director: M Muthaiah
Cast: Sasikumar, Lakshmi Menon, Saranya Ponvanan, Prabha and Aadukalam
Murugadoss

Flush from his successes with Subramaniapuram, Nadodigal and Sundarapandian, director-actor Sasikumar tries to whip up another winner in Kutti Puli (Kid Tiger). Treading on familiar terrain — rural canvas, rustic, rough protagonist, Sasikumar, through debutant director M Muthaiah hopes he can reap it rich at the turnstiles making it a handsome foursome.

By pushing the envelope of predictability, however, Sasikumar woefully falls short of expectations in Kutti Puli, which has all the  ingredients to be a delectably different ensemble entertainer if an effort was made. The cliched, concocted story revolves around the happy-go-lucky Good Samaritan title character, who, having lost his father to a rival gang’s revenge, turns out like his father, despite his mother’s efforts to wean him away from pursuing the painful path.

Her belief is if he ties the knot and settles down in domesticity, things would turn for the better. However, having his father’s blood and genes in him, Kutti Puli, ever ready to lend a helping hand to the needy, rubs his rivals on the wrong side, who want him dead. Meanwhile, drawn by his benevolent disposition is dainty damsel Bharathi who tries to woo him. Can the worried mother and the besotted beauty change Kutti Puli’s destiny and keep at bay violence and vengeance? Will our Kid Tiger tie the matrimonial knot?

Well, Kutti Puli begins with bloody violence and grinds on on this gory terrain. Lacking in focus, sloppy in script, mindless in mayhem, mushy in melodrama, Kutti Puti suits the palate of Sasi’s diehards, for Muthaiah has not been given any leeway to be different. The Sundarapandian pair of Kumar and Menon fail to light up and create their previous magic.