Pa Paandi

Power Paandi (Rajkiran), an ex-stuntmaster in the Tamil cinema industry, is now leading a retired life with his son Raghavan (Prasanna) and family. Paandi is very close to his grandchildren Dhruv (Master Raghavan) and Shaksha (Baby Chavi). He could not sit idle at home and gets involved in other issues outside his house, which brings trouble to Raghavan. He also tries to keep him occupied by going for some part-time jobs like a gym instructor, sidekick, and cinema stuntman, but nothing fulfills him. This brings friction between Paandi and Raghavan.

Paandi, seeking his freedom, goes out of his house with his old bullet and final day savings. On his way, he sees a bunch of old people riding their bikes like him, and narrates his first love experience with them. He shares about how he (Dhanush as young Paandi) met Poonthendral (Madonna Sebastian) for the first time, how they fell in love, and how they were separated. He tells them that he is on a journey to find Poonthendral again. An old man in that group helps Paandi locate Poonthendral. Paandi messages Poonthendral, who has now settled in Hyderabad, as he was in her place and was eager to meet her again.

Finally, Poonthendral (Revathi) agrees to meet him in a restaurant, and both of them meet, remembering all the by-gone days. They post their meet on social media and express happiness for each other's life. Paandi proposes to Poonthendral to live the rest of their life together. Poonthendral, who was initially reluctant at his decision, later convinces herself about his companionship and asks him to come to her house the next day for a lunch and to meet her family (her daughter and granddaughter).

Back at Chennai, Raghavan realizes his mistake and start searching for his father everywhere. Dhruv locates Paandi using social media and finally comes to Poonthendral's house at Hyderabad to take Paandi back with them. When Paandi comes to Poonthendral's house for lunch, he gets reunited with Raghavan's family. Poonthendral and Paandi realize that their life has to go this way and decide to be in touch with each other for the rest of their lives. With much emotional bursts, Paandi leaves Poonthendral's house with Raghavan, waving his hands in air without seeing her, to which she responds.

Guest appearances:

• Gautham Vasudev Menon as Director Gautham
• Robo Shankar as hero in Gautham's film
• Dhivyadharshini as Poonthendral's daughter
• Stunt Silva as Bullet Raja
• Baba Bhaskar as a villager
• Balaji Mohan as Raghavan, Paandi's neighbour (cameo appearance)
• Velraj as Police Inspector (cameo appearance)

The music and score of the film were composed by Sean Roldan. The soundtrack album features six tracks written by Dhanush and directors Selvaraghavan and Raju Murugan. In an official press meet for the film, Dhanush stated Sean Roldan as the soul of Power Paandi, further adding that "It was so surprising to see that both our thoughts and creative expressions were same, which helped us bring out some good music with this film."[5] Most of the songs were melodious and nostalgic themes. Dhanush wrote and sang a number "Soorakaththu" for the film. The song "Venpani Malare" written by Dhanush, features both male and female versions sung by Sean Roldan and Shweta Mohan, and an additional version sung by Dhanush was released later. The tracklist was released on 7 March 2017, on the production company's official Twitter account, and the complete album was released in on 9 March 2017.[10][11] An additional version of "Venpani Malare" which was sung by Dhanush was included as a part of the soundtrack album on 27 March 2017. The male version of the song "Venpani Malare" was only featured in the film itself.

Upon its release, the album received predominantly positive reviews from critics, and also from celebrities.[12] Behindwoods.com rated the soundtrack album 3.25 out of 5, and gave a verdict "A musically brilliant album with fervently composed tracks."[13] Moviecrow rated the soundtrack album 3.25/5 and summarised it as "Sean Roldan produces another winner soundtrack with Power Paandi and Dhanush's penchant for Ilyaraja'esque music is apparent throughout the soundtrack."[14] MusicAloud rated the album 3.5 out of 5 and stated that "Composer Sean Roldan's most mainstream movie project to date has a decidedly derivative sound, but is also very effective. Solid start for the Dhanush-Sean Roldan team. Hope this also means more soundtracks per year from the composer."[15] BollywoodLife rated the album 3.5/5 and finalised it that "Sean Roldan has created a promising album for Dhanush's directorial debut. On hearing each song, you realise, there is a uniform theme being followed (subtle drum beats) , despite that he has managed to make each song stand out. There is a jazzy feel to his compositions that makes it unique yet relatable. You must give this album a try because, when somebody creates songs that stir emotions it should not be missed."[16] Sify rated the album 3 out of 5, with a verdict "Sean Roldan's big ticket to the top league."[17] Hindustan Times rated the album 4 out of 5.[18] Indiaglitz rated the album 2.75 out of 5.[19] Top10 Cinema reviewed it as "One of the beautiful albums in recent times…"[20]

CurrentlyGlobally.com gave the movie 3 stars and mentioned "Just watch this perfect positive summer movie with family - for the great thought, Raj Kiran, and Revathi, in the same order".[7] The satellite rights of the film were bagged by STAR Vijay.

The film was remade in Kannada as Ambi Ning Vayassaytho starring Ambarish in the titular role and produced by actor Sudeep.[8] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion wrote "But here's why Pa Paandi works. Rajkiran. He exudes such grandfatherly warmth, it's impossible not to care for him. And as the second half unfolds, the story picks up too."[21]

• Pa Paandi at IMDb