Pallu Padama Paathuka Movie Review:The ineffective humour is more dangerous than the zombies

Those exposed to Vijay Varadharaj (known for his YouTube channel, Temple Monkeys) and his brand of humour aren't strangers to the fact that the comedy is largely derogatory and contains loads of profanity. Despite the obscenity, the team has majorly tried to pack their content with innovation and social commentary until... Pallu Padama Paathuka. The zombie comedy gives horrible adult entertainers a run for their money with some alarmingly lazy writing. A character is named Aarav, just so it can rhyme with theenju pona pulav; the customary sex doctor lays more emphasis on the word, 'nuts', while talking to a sex-deprived patient; and another character who is the sole owner of a business empire randomly shouts, "Naan owner mattum dhaanga, sole illa." Comedy is subjective, sure, and yet it’s hard to understand who’s going to find any of this particularly funny.

Director: Vijay Varadharaj

Cast: Dinesh, Sanchita Shetty, Shah Ra, Rajendran, Jagan, Linga, Sai Dheena, Harish Paredy, Abdul and Rishikanth

PPP keeps trying to be a satire. Starting from Hitler and Hydra to the Aadhar card and Hindi imposition, Vijay takes a dig at the most random things you can think of. The long list of topics and names the film covers is forgettable and suggests a lack of intent. A bunch of losers decide to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff in a deserted forest inherited by zombies. They form a gang against the army of the dead and are forced to hunt for the antidote as their leader, a scientist-turned-zombie slayer, gets bitten. This wafer-thin story might have been effective had the focus been on one topic instead of blind faith that the audience will find every celebrity reference funny, including names like Simbu, Anirudh, Hiphop Tamizha, Jallikattu Julie and a host of other contemporary celebrity targets.

Strangely enough, the zombie comedy hardly uses its central theme to cook comedy. Every 10th minute, a character looks at the camera and repeats the film's title as a sincere piece of advice to get away from the zombies and there ends the attempt at humour. The team of novices conveniently dodge the dreadful zombies till the end, and even with the absence of an effective weapon, they hardly get hurt. The film, however, seems set on inflicting hurt, even as it makes fun of gay people, Brahmins, Christians, Muslims, internet warriors and government policies. I wish all this courage translated to laughs. 

Sanchita Shetty, the only girl in the film, is reduced to being an eye candy. This scientist also does an item dance out of the blue to lure the zombies. Well, this is when the film hits rock bottom—even if she does the saving business usually taken care of by the male leads. But all this is just a facade to reduce her into a figure that the men can lust at. 

Five years back, when I first heard of an adult zombie comedy titled Pallu Padama Paathuka, I had a hearty laugh. Little did I know then it would be the only laugh the film would evoke