To be brutally frank, Pallikoodam is Thangar's interpretation of Cheran's Autograph, and is mushy and melodramatic. The plot is predictable, as Thangar takes the viewer on a sight –seeing trip of how schools in rural Tamilnadu function, with a lot of cloying nostalgia thrown in for good measure.

It is a film about a group of former school students in a remote village, getting together to save their 'alma mater' (School) that shaped their life from falling into ruins. Vetrivel (Narain), the most intelligent of the lot and son of the village potter makes it really big as an I.A.S officer and collector of Kancheepuram. Muthu (Seeman), son of the village carpenter is today a very famous director in Kollywood.

And Kumarasami (Thangar) who was last in class and a lazy chap ends up as a labourer who cannot make his ends meet. Then there is Kokila (Sneha), Vetri's childhood sweetheart and daughter of the rich village landlord who also owns the school. Kokila is now a teacher at the same school, which is mismanaged by her uncle and about to be shut down by the Educational department bureaucracy.

Kokila with the active support of Kumarasamy, is hell bent on bringing back the old glory to the school. Kumarasamy goes to Kancheepuram and ropes in Vetrivel who uses his clout within the state administration, while Muthu and other old students chip in to revive it with a grand function to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the school.

There are sub plots within the story like how all the friends had developed a 'puppy love' for Jhansi (Shreya Reddy) a nurse who comes to the village and sets up a dispensary. She becomes their role model, and encourages Kokila- Vetrivel affair and gets the wrath of the villager's.The story moves back and forth, and at times it becomes tedious.

Thangar has tried to mix 'save the school campaign' with the unfulfilled love story of Vetrivel and Kokila on a parallel line but falters big time. Kokila knew very well when she went to the marriage registrar's office that Vetrivel is a lower caste man, and her family will oppose it. At the registrar's office she backs out at the last minute, saying that she will marry with only her parents consent! It looks like the drama was staged to bring in filmi emotions of caste divide and subsequent death of Vetrivel's dad, and arrest of Kokila's father and his brother. And in the climax, everybody knows that the collector will walk away holding his lady loves hand! What is the need of having Jhansi character, who later turns up at Muthu's house?

It is an out and out Thangar film, as the character he plays Kumarasamy is sure to get audiences claps. He is the pivot around which the film revolves, and the boy who plays his childhood days is brilliant, especially the scene where he repeatedly drops his pen, to get a look at Shreya Reddy's legs!

Seeman makes an ok debut as Muthu, while Narain makes his character look natural though in the intimate song with Sneha, he looks uncomfortable. Sneha looks good and does her role with consummate ease. Bharadwaj's music is a pale shadow of his earlier Autograph melodies, with Meendum Palliku Pogalam…. the only hummable number. Gana Ulganathan's MGR act in a rickshaw singing Rosemary…Nee oru… is a torture!

On the whole Pallikoodam is just another nostalgic slice of life film from Thangar against a village milieu with some funny moments. It is definitely not worth sending to Cannes, as made out by the director, as the nearly 3 hour long film would have put the jury members to sleep! At best it is a decent film which makes an attempt to say a story.

Verdict- Pass Mark