A promising story
‘Lenin Pandian’
– Review
‘Lenin Pandian’ sets out to tell a story about ordinary people caught in the machinery of power. At its centre is Maaravarman Sundarapandian, a police constable who inherits his father’s job after his father Lenin, Left-leaning policeman, dies while on duty after refusing to participate in a fake encounter.
Maaravarman is hardly the stereotypical fearless police hero. He is somewhat timid, and the system exploits that vulnerability. After a drunk man assaults him and throws him into a sewer, the police department subjects him to another form of humiliation by assigning him a station duty where he is essentially expected to stand and salute.
His life takes an unexpected turn when Durairasu, an ordinary elderly man, loses the goat he has raised like a daughter after it is hit by a lorry allegedly involved in illegal sand mining.
When Durairasu decides to seek justice through the courts, Maaravarman is assigned to protect him with a gun. What follows is a confrontation between an insignificant man seeking justice and the powerful interests determined to silence him.
The basic premise is compelling. The film attempts to examine how an individual police officer negotiates a system in which authority, money and political influence can work against an ordinary citizen.
Darshan Ganeshan makes his debut as Maaravarman Sundarapandian. He is the grandson of Ramkumar, elder son of legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan.
The casting works particularly well because Maaravarman is not written as a conventional mass hero. He is hesitant, fearful and unsure of himself, and Darshan plays those qualities without trying to artificially transform the character into a larger-than-life policeman.
His performance is at its best when Maaravarman is caught between his instinct to remain safe and his growing sense of responsibility.
Shritha Rao plays Priya, Maaravarman’s wife, and provides support to the protagonist’s personal side. Roja and Gangai Amaren appear as Sandhanam and Durairasu, respectively. Their pairing is noteworthy because they return to the screen together after ‘Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen’ (1998).
Their relationship carries a quiet emotional quality. The screenplay does not spend enough time developing their love through dialogue, but Roja communicates much of it through her expressions, particularly in the film’s closing portions.
The image of Sandhanam collecting mushrooms in the rain gives the film a poetic ending and leaves behind a sense of tenderness that contrasts with the harsher conflict involving the police and powerful interests.
Gangai Amaren, meanwhile, effectively portrays Durairasu as an ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary situation.
One of the film’s most effective sequences is a courtroom confrontation involving Gangai Amaren’s Durairasu, George Maryan as Judge and Bose Venkat as a police officer.
The scene has the kind of dramatic force that can immediately connect with a theatre audience. George Maryan, in particular, delivers a striking performance and gives the sequence considerable weight.
Director D.D. Balachandran has a story with enough ingredients for a gripping political-social drama, but the screenplay often feels like a collection of incidents placed one after another rather than a smoothly progressing narrative.
Several potentially powerful moments are introduced but not given the dramatic build-up they require.
There is a clear influence of veteran filmmaker Bharathiraja on Durairasu’s character and the emotional world surrounding him. The use of Ilaiyaraaja’s musical material associated with ‘Mudhal Mariyathai’ reinforces that connection. It creates an interesting question about whether the film is consciously paying homage to that cinematic tradition or simply borrowing from it.
Either way, the reference is difficult to miss. Another interesting choice is the film’s refusal to conclude as a straightforward victory story.
The narrative builds around the idea of an ordinary person challenging entrenched power, but rather than providing the conventional satisfaction of seeing the underdog decisively triumph, it increasingly moves towards emotional resolution.
‘Lenin Pandian’ has a worthwhile premise and several memorable performances, particularly from Darshan Ganeshan, Gangai Amaren and George Maryan. Its attempt to place an ordinary policeman and a powerless citizen at the centre of a conflict with entrenched authority gives it a strong social foundation.
There is something admirable about a film that chooses to focus on people who are rarely presented as conventional heroes. Maaravarman is not fearless, Durairasu is not powerful, and their battle is not simply about defeating a villain.
It is about whether ordinary people can stand their ground when confronted by an intimidating system. That idea gives ‘Lenin Pandian’ its identity, even when the execution does not always rise to the level of its ambition.