Bumper review: An engaging story about money and friendships

Director Selvakumar’s Bumper is an interesting and engaging entertainer that manages to win your heart by the time it ends.

The film starts in a fashion that reminds you of several other corny movies that you might have watched in the past.

However, with each passing minute, the story keeps getting better. At one point, the plot takes a refreshing turn that puts Bumper in an entirely different league altogether. By the time the film ends, it wins your heart and makes you actually root for it.

Before we go into what works and what doesn’t, here’s the synopsis:

Synopsis

Pulipandi (Vetri) is a loafer who, along with his three sidekicks, will do anything for the sake of money. From robbing people to selling alcohol in the black on Gandhi Jayanthi, the friends indulge in everything they think will help them make a quick buck.

Pulipandi is so notorious that he is no stranger to the local police station.

A shady cop named Madasamy (Kavitha Bharathi) is in nexus with these misguided youths. Madasamy often takes a cut from the money the friends make through illegal means.

It is under these circumstances that one day, Madasamy comes to Pulipandi with a proposal to murder a man.

Madasamy tells Pulipandi that the two brothers are fighting over property and the elder one is looking for someone to kill the younger brother.

Pulipandi initially hesitates, but the lure of money eventually makes him agree. He and his friends ask the cop for a couple of days to complete the task. But before they can do so, an assassin employed by the younger brother kills their employer.

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Turn of events

As luck would have it, the Superintendent of Police of the district is transferred and a new honest and duty-conscious Superintendent of Police named Benjamin (Aruvi Madhan) gets posted.

Benjamin is intent on rounding up all the rowdy sheeters in the district and needless to say, the names of Pulipandi and his three accomplices figure in the list.

Pulipandi and his friends, who are looking to flee from the cops, arrive at the Ayyappa Temple where devotees going to Sabarimala are in the process of wearing the holy mala. Pulipandi and his friends, too, decide to wear the mala and go to Sabarimala to escape the cops.

At Sabarimala, Pulipandi meets Ismail (Hareesh Peradi), a Muslim Malayali lottery ticket seller. Taking pity on him, Pulipandi buys a lottery ticket from the poor but righteous lottery seller. He returns home, but little does he know that he is about to win ₹10 crore.

Ismail, who finds the lottery ticket that Pulipandi has lost, gets to know that it has won the bumper prize of ₹10 crore. But instead of claiming the prize money for himself, he decides to find Pulipandi and hand over the lottery ticket to him.

What happens then is what the film is all about.

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Sends a message

Bumper is a winner just for the strong and inspiring message that it looks to send out. It underlines the fact that there are people with integrity even in this day and age when conmen and culprits rule the roost.

The manner in which the story is narrated is just realistic and therefore absorbing. You can actually relate to the problems of all the characters and there is not a single scene which looks artificial or exaggerated.

Through this sensible story, director Selvakumar manages to show how flimsy and capricious human nature is and the impact money has on humans.

The rapid manner in which money makes friends turn into foes and foes into friends is beautifully captured in this engaging entertainer.

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Impressive performances

Hareesh Peradi, who plays the poor lottery seller with integrity, is just outstanding. This isn’t the first time that the gifted actor has impressed us with a fantastic performance and it certainly won’t be the last.

Vetri, who has always shown a penchant for picking meaningful scripts, does his career and himself a favour by playing the lead in Bumper. He comes up with a neat and commendable performance. He delivers exactly what is needed for the script.

Shivani Narayanan has very little to do, but she plays her part to satisfaction.

Crishna’s background score and Govind Vasantha’s music are both good.

Final take

In all, Bumper is a heart-warming entertainer that is definitely worth a watch.

(Views expressed here are personal.)