Back home

Pokkiri Raja

8 votes

Producing House

A young man whose constant yawning leaves him out of work gets a gangster arrested by accident. Now, the latter is out to get his revenge, but what he doesn't know is how powerful a yawn can be.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 2016-03-04

Runtime: 139 mins

Director: Ramprakash Rayappa

Spoken language: தமிழ்

Genres: Action, Comedy, Romance

Original title: Pokkiri Raja

Production Companies: PTS Films International

Production Countries: India

Reviews

t

timesofindia
If he gave a race-against-time thriller with his debut film, Tamizhukku En 1-Ai Azhuthavum, with Pokkiri Raja, Ramprakash Rayappa gives us a masala movie that blends together comedy, history, and Stephen Chow-ish fantasy. The plot revolves around Sanjeevi (a somewhat jaded Jiiva) and his yawns, which are super contagious (they make an entire office sleepy). This often results in him being removed from his job. When he lends a helping hand to his colleague and girlfriend Sunita (Hansika, who gets close-up shots despite her bad lip-sync) in stopping men from urinating in public, he shames Cooling Glass Guna (Sibiraj, commendable as the comic villain), a gangster, and later, his yawn, which has become so forceful that it can shatter glass and throw people off the ground, also leads to Guna losing his eyesight. Sanjeevi comes to know of the history behind the power of his yawn, but Guna, who has regained sight, wants revenge. Pokkiri Raja is frustrating in quite a few stretches as instead of focussing on his main plot, Rayappa wastes time with unnecessary songs, a comedy track that is as cliched as casting Mano Bala as an office boss, and a romantic track that is lazily written. The hero set his eyes on the white-skinned heroine and starts to take an interest in her; and when he sees her doing social work (something that most Tamil film heroines seem to do), he instantly falls in love with her. But the film starts to find its feet. Sanjeevi's yawning problem gets an explanation (though it is also contradictory to what we are initially led to believe — that it could be fatal), and Rayappa uses this problem entirely for comic effect even into the climax, so the tone of the film remains light-hearted. And some of the set-ups of the previous scenes also have their payoff here — like Guna's henchmen believing that it is the ghost of the possessed woman he had murdered earlier being responsible for his loss of eyesight. Even the extended scene which involves Guna, who has got back his eyesight, discovering his sidekicks' attitude towards him is funny and Ramdas aces this scene. Ultimately, it is such constant stream of laughs in the second half make up for a first half full of yawns.
2016-03-18

Recommendations

Black Eagle
2.5

Black Eagle

1988-05-01

One of the US Air Force's most modern tactical aircrafts, an F-100 with a new laser guidance system,

The Foreigner
1.9

The Foreigner

2003-06-01

This story is about a freelance agent who is the courier of a package from France to Germany. He soo

Black Belt Jones
3

Black Belt Jones

1974-01-28

Jones is a secret agent who has gone into semi-retirement, concentrating instead on teaching the mar

To Kill with Intrigue
2.7

To Kill with Intrigue

1977-07-22

Young master Cao Le chases his pregnant girlfriend away from the family castle. He does it in order

Spiritual Kung Fu
2.9

Spiritual Kung Fu

1978-11-23

Jackie Chan plays the part of the class clown in a shaolin temple whose deadliest secret is stolen.

Heart of Dragon
3.4

Heart of Dragon

1985-09-14

A policeman forsakes his dream of world travel to care for a mentally impaired brother, who is later

The Magnificent Butcher
3.5

The Magnificent Butcher

1979-12-19

A plump butcher student of Wong Fei Hung, Lam Sai-Wing gets into trouble with a rival kung-fu school

Deadful Melody
3

Deadful Melody

1994-01-08

A young security man must prove himself worthy by defending the one object wanted by all the masters

Clash of the Titans
3

Clash of the Titans

2010-03-26

Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus is helpless to save his family from Hades, vengeful god o

Legend of a Fighter
3.2

Legend of a Fighter

1982-02-12

This is a powerful, yet fictionalized life story of Huo Yuan Chia, a real kung fu master in Southern

Operation Scorpio
3.1

Operation Scorpio

1992-09-10

After an aspiring comic book artist rescues a young girl from a prostitution ring, he submits to the

Swordsman
3.5

Swordsman

1990-04-05

When a scroll containing valuable martial arts secrets is stolen from the Emperor, an army detachmen

Dolemite
2.9

Dolemite

1975-04-26

Dolemite is a pimp who was set up by Willie Greene and the cops, who have planted drugs, stolen furs

The Big Brawl
3

The Big Brawl

1980-08-18

A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight compe

Fearless Hyena
3.3

Fearless Hyena

1979-02-17

Lung is a talented fighter but prefers to spend his time loafing around and picking fights, despite

In Hell
3.3

In Hell

2003-11-24

A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainm

Black Dawn
2

Black Dawn

2006-02-13

Jonathan Cold returns, this time he goes Undercover to stop a group of Terrorists before they bomb L

Fist of Legend
3.7

Fist of Legend

1994-12-22

Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
3.7

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

1972-04-22

Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must eliminate a trai

Kull the Conqueror
2.5

Kull the Conqueror

1997-08-29

A barbarian named Kull becomes ruler after defeating the old king in battle. In an effort to regain