At a time when Tamil cinema was being led along the same path of masala and romance movie after movie, Vikraman made us sit up and take notice of him with his very first movie Pudhu Vasantham. He dared to strike a different path by making a movie that had friendship as its theme and found success too as the movie became a super hit. Its soundtrack became very popular, Murali inherited the mantle of 'singing star' from Mohan and Sitara(this was her first movie too) went on to enjoy a moderately successful career.

Vikraman has mastered the art of portaying good things in a way that is simple and makes us feel good and leave the theater with a smile. In Vaanatha Pole the relationships in the loving family were so affectionate while in Poove Unakkaaga, Vijay was the ideal lover with lofty ideas about love. Here Vikraman places friendship on a pedestal and even though it is his first movie, shows many signs of his later trademarks. The movie makes us wish for a friendship like the one that exists between its leads.

Balu(Murali), Michael(Anandbabu), Raja(Raja) and Manohar(Charlie) are a foursome who sing by the roadside for a living, while struggling to find their break as singers. They rescue Gauri(Sitara), who arrives in search of her lover Suresh, from a man who attempts to cheat her. But arriving at Suresh's house, they learn that he has left for London. So they decide to let Gauri live with them and become real good friends with her. The four are genuinely happy when they learn Suresh is returning and wonder how he would treat them.

The movie lets four guys and the heroine live together under one roof but focusses on the friendship between them. This came as a real surprise back then. I remember watching this movie back in Chennai, waiting for Murali or Sitara to develop romantic feelings for the other and being pleasantly surprised when the director showed no signs of that happening! The friendship between the gang is picturised very well. The sorrow that comes over the four after they take Sitara to a hostel and their happiness when she comes back are infectious and touching. The way they run around and satisfy her every wish is also sweet and makes us wish for friends like them.

Emotions are overdone sometimes though they are effective most of the time. The point where Sitara tells Jaiganesh that the four are her friends is very effective. The character of Suresh is a caricature. Though his future actions are necessary for the storyline, his actions right from the beginning are cinematic and leave us in no doubt as to how the movie is going to end. The familiar houseowner whose only job seems to be to badmouth Sitara is also at hand(alongwith her similarly foul-mouthed neighbors at the handpump!) though she soon learns her lesson and becomes friendlier.

Acting honors are spread quite evenly among the cast with all of them having their moments. Murali proves he can play a predominantly jolly role too instead of keeping his face sad all the time. Anandbabu and Raja play their roles as they always do. Charlie is extremely funny and has the best lines in the movie. The way he reads Gauri's name when she writes it on the board and his reaction to her invitation for dinner after an earlier (mis)adventure are hilarious (He must have felt a sense of deja vu playing exactly this same role of one of four struggling band of musicians in the recent Ennavale!) As in all Vikraman movies, a weak soundtrack and unimaginative picturisation plague the movie and these are even more striking since the movie is basically a musical and contains quite a few songs. Aayiram Thirunaal... is the only catchy number in the movie. Mudhal Mudhalaa... certainly doesn't sound like it deserves all the nods from its listeners while Podu Thaalam Podu... doesn't fit into the situation at all.