Film: 'Maathi Yosi'; Cast: Harish, Alex, Gopal, Visak, Shammu; Director: Nandha Periyasamy; Producer: P.S. Sekar Reddy; Music Director: Guru Kalyan; Rating: Ratings: **

'Maathi Yosi' means 'think differently'. Hence, one expects something new in the film. Director Nandha Periyasamy's second directorial venture after 'Oru Kalluriyin Kathai' (2005) does have something new in the form of backdrop, but it doesn't have anything new in the narrative.

Set in the backdrop of a Dalit colony, film portrays prevailing caste equation well. Four adolescent youths from a Dalit colony are full of mischief and looking for opportunities to pester others. They kill a lizard, a rabbit and rob a van passing through the village. Soon they become the targets of police for various crimes and ruptures.

One day, a little Dalit girl, who cleans the temple car (chariot) in the village, joins them. She is punished by the upper caste people for spoiling the sanctity of the lord. The four boys get angry and abduct Lord Murugan along with the chariot and bring him inside their colony.

Angry upper caste people launch an attack on the boys with the help of police. The boys escape from the clutches of police, teach a lesson to the landlord and find their way to Chennai.

In the city, they steal to survive. Along the way, they get a revolver and bump into a girl called Shammu. They are forced to save her from the clutches of her greedy uncle.

The initial village scenes evoke interest, but it wanes once the boys land up in Chennai. The director, who calls upon to think differently, ironically falls into the trap of cliched formula to make the movie interesting.

Logic takes a backseat and interest created by initial scenes disappears after the entry of Shammu's character. It looks silly to see the city-bred modern girl moving around with a bunch of raw-looking youths who don't even bother to put on their shirts.

Editor Kola Baskar has done a good job and cinematographer Vijay Armstrong too has managed to capture the beauty of rural areas. Debutant music director Guru Kalyan's background score passes muster and his songs leave much to be desired.

Among the actors, Ravi Maria who plays Shammu's uncle, takes the cake with the casual portrayal of his character. Others too have done well, but have been badly hit by the shoddy screenplay.

Starting promisingly by focusing on the casteist problem, the films goes wayward and loses its opportunity to be an unique movie.