It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

KB, the director of this flick has delved deep into the problem of unemployment in the 80's period of India. The license restrictions made unemployment further higher in the country and this story deals with a well-educated youth who is extensively ideal and does not lose his morality for mere survival. What follows is his actions in life making him fight his own father and come out of his house as an independent unemployed youth fighting in order to find a job. This movie also shows two other people who are the protagonist's room-mates and the film ends with the beautiful character portrayals and twist and turns. The film shows that morality is very relative in this world and the order of the day is survival through any-means. Among the protagonist's friends,one of them marries a rich widow and gets settled while the other becomes a mad-beggar roaming in the streets. The film's heroine is shown as a woman who is also a heavy victim of fate with a drunken father and a mad and rich boss who tries hard to marry her but she is in between the boss and her lover finally managing to marry her lover. Another beautiful character is the dumb painter on the roads trying to make a living through his paintings. What is clearly shown in the film is that the unemployed youth are well-educated and active young people and are not lazy people. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is exemplified through this film. Kudos to the director and the hero Kamal Haasan for this film.

Art movies usually follow naturalistic style. This, my favorite of all KB movies, is a rare combination of romanticism in art movie. This is not an art movie per se, but one of the closest attempts from KB. (next to 'Oru veedu iru vaasal').The story is about an uncompromising young man's struggle of finding a honest job in the hypocritical world. The lead roles are played by Kamal and Sridevi, probably the best ever Tamil movie couples known for acting talent. This movie is an example of an artistic serious movie that is interesting, moving, ironical and funny at the same time.There is a scene involving an empty kitchen set. This is one such scene where you have to laugh at the joke, in order to keep yourself from crying.

A lot of people thought this movie was highly exaggerated, but I think it was a pretty accurate reflection of what idealistic young men go through in India. Kamal is in his element, as is Sridevi. In fact, everyone does a good job. Plenty of melodrama and cliches, but the movie ends on the right note. Thengai Sreenivasan appears for a few incredibly funny minutes, proving that there are no small roles -- only small actors. MSV and Kannadasan, not to mention Bharathiyar, make for an everlasting classic soundtrack. Worth a watch.