Manimaran, who made an impressive debut in "Udhayam NH4," has teamed up with Jai for his second film "Pugazh." It is a political-thriller, which hit screens Friday, March 18.

Click here for 'Pugazh' Movie Stills

Surabhi has romanced Jai in "Pugazh," which has Karunas, RJ Balaji, Marimuthu, Rajani and others in the supporting cast. It has Vivek Siva-Mervin Solomon's music and "Neeyae," "Vizhigalil Vizhundhavalo" and "Naanga Podiyan" songs have impressed the audience.

While Velraj is the cinematographer of "Pugazh," GB Venkatesh is the editor of the Tamil flick.

Jai is in need of a hit as some of his recent movies like "Valiyavan" and "Thirumanam Ennum Nikkah" have failed to live up to the viewers' expectations. He will be hoping to return to good form with his latest venture.

With its trailer and audio, "Pugazh" has managed to create a good hype around it. Hence, the Tamil flick is releasing in over 250 screens.

The story of "Pugazh" is about how an ordinary man takes on a corrupt politician, who tries to grab a playground property. The story is inspired by a real-life incident in Walajapet in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu. Jai will be seen in the title role and works with his brother (Karunas) in their shop. RJ Balaji plays his friend in the movie.

Average Ratings Given by Viewers: 3

Review:
The audience say that "Pugazh" is a time-pass entertainer and can be easily watched once. Despite inconsistency in the narration, the film manages to hold the attention of the viewers. While the first half is good, the screenplay loses the pace in the second half. Performance wise, Jai and Maarimuthu have done justice to their roles and Surabhi is impressive in her limited role. Below, we bring to you the audience's response to the Tamil movie:

Common Man Sathish tweeted: â€ª#‎Pugazh‬ - A political drama with good plot, average screenplay & few bold dialogues. Karunaas as Jai's brother steals the show completely. Jai, Maarimuthu, RJ Balaji & debutant Ananth Ram have given their best. Narration could have been better.
‪#‎Pugazh‬ First half - A political drama which has few good bold dialogues. Jai has given his best. Karunaas has rocked with his subtle acting. Good plot, screenplay could have been better. Waiting for engaging second half.
#Pugazh - Reference of Thala or Ilayathalapathy continues in movies. Ilayathalapathy Vijay reference in the movie #ThaenThaen from #Kuruvi

Vignesh Kandaswamy tweeted: The performance of junior artists in many scenes look very artificial as in a very bad movie. Could have been dealt better #Pugazh
Inconsistency in screenplay and link between scenes the - ve of the 1st half. Editing could have been better #Pugazh
Jai's performance the big +ve of 1st half. Marimuthu as the cunning villain also scores. Would have liked to see more of the story #Pugazh
Half way thru #Pugazh. Okay so far. Not into the story yet but the plot is the local politics around a sports ground. Jai holds the movie.

Ramesh wrote: #Pugazh [3.25/5]: A fairly engagin political thriller in a small town setup.. Good dialogues.. Nice comedy & romance.. Very relevant subject
#Pugazh 1st Half : Tailor made role for @Actor_Jai - He is doing a good job so far.. @Surbhiactress and Jai have some cute scenes..
#Pugazh 1st Half : About a group of youngsters with small town politics backdrop.. Engaging and moves at an optimal pace.. Nice comedy..
#Pugazh [3.25/5] : @RJ_Balaji 's one liners r fun.. #Karunas has a good role.. Villain #Marimuthu is very natural..
#Pugazh [3.25/5]: Dir #Manimaran has written with realistic characters.. Nothing extraordinary.. A harmless one-time watch..

Kollywood Cinema posted: #Pugazh : Engaging 1st half. So far too good. @Actor_Jai is back with neat performance & Theri Political Dialogues Good Comedy by @RJ_Balaji

Vijay sunil posted: Ilayathalapathy Vijay reference in #Pugazh movie .. #ThaenThaen song from #Kuruvi
Praveen Panther wrote: Watched #pugazh movie along with @virgin_off. Good commercial flick with social message for youth. Congratulations @Actor_Jai.. Hit.

Haricharan Pudipeddi tweeted: #Pugazh though partly inconsistent in its narrative, works quite well as a political thriller. #Jai and #Karunas very good in their roles

Gokul Raj wrote: Show Time : #Pugazh
Watched #Pugazh.. Padam Therikuthu @Actor_Jai Anna Padam Sure Hit

Ramesh tweeted: #Pugazh 1st Half : Tailor made role for @Actor_Jai - He is doing a good job so far.. @Surbhiactress and Jai have some cute scenes..