Tamil cinema’s top commercial director K.S.Ravikumar who has been making light-hearted comedies recently understands that it is the age of rage. Nothing works better than an angry young man taking on the system. So Ravikumar who had the rights of an old Malayalam film Mahayanam has taken the central character of a rough and tough lorry driver and reworked the script to suit the Tamil milieu. Paarai is fast paced and has some good performance from the lead actors.

Durairaj (Sarath Kumar) is a lorry driver who is tough as a nail. He had a bitter childhood and has no relatives or friends and his only solace is Jayaram (Jayaram) his cleaner who is just the opposite of him. Jayaram is a happy-go-lucky guy who dots on his mother (Vadivukarasi), wife Mallika (Meena) and daughter and dreams of making enough money to build a small house for his family. Durai and Jayaram share a special bond, as they understand each other well.

On his way to see his family Jayaram dies in an accident and Dorai goes to his village with the body. There he finds that Jayaram’s family needs his help and out of sympathy he decides to settle there and build a small house according to the last wish of his friend. There he comes across a local landlord (Vijayan) who cheats the illiterate villagers by giving them loans and later taking over their property. Then there is a teashop owner Vasantha (Ramya Krishnan) on whom the entire men folk lust. But she is hard working, and at the same time foul mouthed and is a terror. Dorairaj works hard to make a house for Mallika and when the villagers suspect his good intentions, he proves to them that he has a sisterly affection towards her, as he has a soft corner for Vasantha. How Dorai wins over the villagers and fight against injustice against the landlord and his son forms the rest of the story.

Sarath Kumar as the morose lorry driver who hardly opens his mouth dominates the film with a powerhouse performance. Jayaram in a short role is lovable and is first class as the cleaner and he entertains the audience with his one-liners. But it is Ramya Vamsi as Vasantha who adds vim, vigour and sparkle to the film. Even the comedy track of Ramesh Kanna and company raises a few laughs. On the downside the film is too long and the music of Sabesh Murali is rehashed from brother Deva’s old tunes. On the whole Paarai is a well-made commercial film that will go down well with the masses.