The film also proves to be more ambitious than remaining just a simple comedy. An additional bonus is that the physical comedy rarely turns into slapstick. In fact, the entire first half had me laughing harder than I've laughed in a long time. One can laugh at the clever and funny dialogs just as much as one can laugh at Vadivelu's expressions and all-around ineptness (a poet's first visit to the court illustrates this combination perfectly as the poet's words and subsequent explanation and Vadivelu's reactions to the words result in one of funniest sequences in the film). And as it proceeds it proves to be an almost perfect mix of verbal and physical comedy. Right from the first scene where a caption identifies a lizard as an aranmanai palli, the film announces its intention to be a comedy loud and clear. When he gets the chance, he switches places with the king and sets out to set things right. So one baby grows up to be Pulikesi(Vadivelu), a cowardly king who openly socializes with the British while his twin brother Ukkirabudhan(Vadivelu), brought up in Kanchipuram, turns into a patriotic revolutionary who is saddened by the state of the kingdom. But when he learns that the queen(Manorama) has now delivered twins and that one of them will be easy to control, he plans to bring up the baby as his hand-puppet and orders the other baby to be set afloat in the river. Sangilimaayan(Nasser), the queen's brother, has killed the first 22 sons of the king(Nagesh) of Chozhapuram with the intention of becoming the next king. The story is a take-off on Sivaji's Uthama Puthiran. So its time to rejoice since Imsai Arasan 23aam Pulikesi, produced by director Shankar and directed by debutant Chimbudeven, is fresh, different and works very well. And when that effort actually works, its truly time to rejoice. Any time a producer or director offers something fresh and different, that effort deserves to be welcomed with open arms.
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