Ukkirabudhan is probably the more difficult character since he has to play him straight. Its official! Vadivelu has completely grown on me! He is a delight as Pulikesi and his trademark expressions(when he is insulted or surprised) are hilarious. The long flashback is very transparent as a ploy to keep the comedy flowing but it works since it is very funny and reminds us that the film is still a comedy. But the director himself has recognized this and interrupts Ukkirabudhan's good deeds with a flashback of Pulikesi on a bear hunt. This is good for the country but not for the film! And the king in prison (even if it is a very casual one) is not half as funny as the king in court. With Vadivelu correcting his predecessor's wrongs, the film is forced to play it straight. Once the twins switch places, the film loses a little of its comic momentum. In fact, every aspect of Pulikesi's rule, like his collusion with thieves and the bribery, could be applied to the workings of a corrupt government today.

Thinly-veiled jabs at Pepsi and the associated celebrity advertisements, a brilliant segment that draws associations with a modern-day cricket match(complete with stadium hoardings, tea-breaks and a 'man-of-the-match' award) and potshots at the workings of a government office are all examples of this. It deftly blends in social commentary and turns into a satire at more than one place, but does all that without losing its comic touch.

The film also proves to be more ambitious than remaining just a simple comedy. An additional bonus is that the physical comedy rarely turns into slapstick. In fact, the entire first half had me laughing harder than I've laughed in a long time. One can laugh at the clever and funny dialogs just as much as one can laugh at Vadivelu's expressions and all-around ineptness (a poet's first visit to the court illustrates this combination perfectly as the poet's words and subsequent explanation and Vadivelu's reactions to the words result in one of funniest sequences in the film). And as it proceeds it proves to be an almost perfect mix of verbal and physical comedy. Right from the first scene where a caption identifies a lizard as an aranmanai palli, the film announces its intention to be a comedy loud and clear. When he gets the chance, he switches places with the king and sets out to set things right. So one baby grows up to be Pulikesi(Vadivelu), a cowardly king who openly socializes with the British while his twin brother Ukkirabudhan(Vadivelu), brought up in Kanchipuram, turns into a patriotic revolutionary who is saddened by the state of the kingdom. But when he learns that the queen(Manorama) has now delivered twins and that one of them will be easy to control, he plans to bring up the baby as his hand-puppet and orders the other baby to be set afloat in the river. Sangilimaayan(Nasser), the queen's brother, has killed the first 22 sons of the king(Nagesh) of Chozhapuram with the intention of becoming the next king. The story is a take-off on Sivaji's Uthama Puthiran. So its time to rejoice since Imsai Arasan 23aam Pulikesi, produced by director Shankar and directed by debutant Chimbudeven, is fresh, different and works very well. And when that effort actually works, its truly time to rejoice.

Any time a producer or director offers something fresh and different, that effort deserves to be welcomed with open arms.

Imsai arasan 23am pulikesi kakapo