Naalu Policeum Nalla Iruntha Oorum (4 cops and a peaceful town) - Bunch of banters!

NPNIO would have sealed the deal for Arulnidhi had it been on target for what it stood - create some heavily orchestrated laughters with some comically staged gags served on a neat plate. The premise was set for a comic riot but there was a heavy emphasis towards satisfying the commercial needs of the film than taking the story forward with a more engaging screenplay.

NPNIO’s story is spun around 4 cops (Arulnidhi, Singampuli, Bhagavathi Perumal and Rajkumar) who are posted in a utopian town called Porpandhal. The town looks like the brainchild of director Vikraman, filled with people who imbue endless compassion and magnanimity towards fellow human beings (even a thief gets a royal treatment). The people of the town are too good that the police station over there functions merely as a “recreational club” and they enjoy a weekly off too. Soon the authorities decide that the town needn’t have a police station and the cops are asked to be transferred to ‘Ramnad’ which is supposed to be a town mired in violence and fury. In order to avoid getting transferred, the cops plan to infuse chaos in Porpandhal with hardly any success. When things seem to settle down, the seeds of fury get infused and all hell breaks loose with the town facing its worst nightmare of getting mired in chaos and violence.

The problem with the story was its predictability. Also the believability factor was another major issue. A town that is warming to the ideals of utopia getting entangled in catastrophe and the humane beings turning into zombie like specimens was a case of sheer predictability. The way in which this transformation happens was quite convincing, but the pace at which the entire town gets bogged down to this was something that was hard to believe. Also the romance between Arulnithi and Remya Nambeesan (who acted pretty well) was poorly conceived and boringly delivered.

The overall treatment of this different take on utopia was below par and hence the story crumbles and wags like a tail of a stray canine. The penultimate message that appears as a superscript on screen about one’s own actions leading to a catastrophe was the last nail on the coffin. A typical example of a badly developed screenplay over an above average story with some decent performances.

Verdict: Avoidable

Rating: 1.5 / 5