Directed by Bejoy Nambiar, Por promises a lot at the beginning, but somewhere down the line, the narrative fizzles out, making it a not-so-impactful affair. I will have to say here that the ideas put forth by the filmmaker had a lot of potential, but the film was never able to capitalize on it, and additionally, there were certain subplots that were half-baked and didn’t make any sense at all. So, let’s find out what the students at Saint Martin’s University were up to and if they were able to resolve the conflicts that existed between them.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Yuva hate Prabhu?
Prabhu was not able to pass for the fifth consecutive time as he ate a sandwich just before his presentation, not realizing that it had some kind of psychedelics mixed in it. It was not like Prabhu was a weak student, but he had created a safe haven for himself inside the four walls of Saint Martin’s University, and the love of his life, Gayatri, was also studying there. People looked up to Prabhu, and even the faculty took him seriously. Though the juniors were scared of him, Prabhu never misused his power and influence. But things changed when Yuva joined the university. Yuva was as fearless as Prabhu, and he was not even scared of being bullied by the seniors. In fact, he taught the seniors a lesson and went about his business in an unabashed manner. Yuva saw Prabhu, and he went up to him and asked him if he remembered him. Prabhu could never forget those eyes, as they had haunted him ever since that tragic incident happened during his school days. Prabhu was Yuva’s senior in school, and both of them shared quite a close bond. One day, a bunch of seniors came and physically abused Yuva. Prabhu stood there, unable to do anything, and the guilt of not being able to help his brother-like friend haunted him ever since. Yuva always believed that Prabhu didn’t help him intentionally, and he also derived a lot of sadistic pleasure subjecting him to such misery. Years later, when Yuva met Prabhu in college, the latter realized that even if it was not his fault, he should go and apologize to him. But Yuva was in no mood to accept any apology. He was in a mood for war, and he was adamant about destroying Prabhu’s entire life.
What did Kiruba do to Venilla?
Venilla was standing in the election for the post of general secretary, and she knew that if the voting was conducted fairly, she had a huge chance of winning that time. In Por, we saw that there was another candidate for the student post, named Surya Sabapathy, who was the daughter of the PWD minister, and her father was also one of the trustees of the college. Surya didn’t want any elections to happen, and she wanted the faculty to give her the post. Gayatri was a social activist, and together with Venilla, they protested against the decision. They said that such an undemocratic decision could set a very bad precedent. Now Kiruba, who was the right-hand man of Surya’s father, got agitated, and on his own accord, he damaged Venilla’s hand by mercilessly pouring acid on it. Venilla was in a state of shock and trauma, and she decided that she would not contest the upcoming elections. That was what Kiruba, Surya, and their party members wanted to happen, but Gayatri couldn’t see them get away after committing such a heinous crime. Gayatri went to convince Venilla, and though the latter didn’t agree with her at first, later she came back to fight for her own cause. Venilla knew that if she backed out at that moment, then the perpetrators would feel that they could do anything and get away with it. Venilla, together with Gayatri and others, went to the police station and filed an FIR against Surya and Kiruba. Surya, being the sole candidate in the election, was given the post of GS, but when the news of the FIR reached the faculty, her candidature was put on hold.
Did Prabhu and Yuva resolve their issues?
The management of the university decided that the college festival would be organized by the freshmen. It was Prabhu’s last year in college, and he didn’t understand why there was a need to break the tradition when, for ages, it was the seniors who did all the arrangements. Prabhu knew that the freshers wouldn’t be able to pull off what the seniors could, and so he took the decision to veto the festival and not be a part of it. One of the freshmen, named Bala, misbehaved with her ex-flame, and that led to the college being divided into two groups. Under the leadership of Yuva, the freshmen united under one banner, and Prabhu, together with his followers, made a vow to teach the former a befitting lesson. Yuva had feelings for Rishika, but he was ready to let that go, too, for revenge. Yuva and Prabhu, after a long goose chase, came face-to-face, and they exchanged blows with each other. Prabhu did not defend himself, as he wanted Yuva to take out all the anger from his system and get down once and for all.
Meanwhile, Kiruba was still not done, and he told Surya that last time, after pouring acid, he should have killed Venilla. Kiruba was fuming with anger, and he told Surya that he was going to make sure that nobody dared stand against her in the election. Kiruba went to the ground where Prabhu and Yuva were fighting, and while Kiruba slit Gayatri’s neck, the other goons caught hold of Venilla. Prabhu and Yuva saw that, and they left everything and pounced on Kiruba and his men. Gayatri and Venilla were taken to the hospital, and fortunately, their lives were saved.
During Por‘s ending, Surya and Kiruba were taken into custody by the police, and the students were hopeful that they would get the harshest of punishments. Venilla, Gayatri, Prabhu, and Yuva stood together on the terrace, and the crowd of students cheered for them. Now that Prabhu had a job and passed his exams, Gayatri would most probably give him the answer to the question he had been asking her for a very long time. Gayatri would have realized that life was unpredictable, and probably that would have made her start a new life with Prabhu. As for Yuva and Prabhu, I believe that they would have each other’s back at all times.
