Though he debuted with a family drama Aanandham, Lingusamy made a successful transition to action and masala in his very next film Run and has since stuck to the same genre inspite of varying degrees of success. The action overwhelmed everything else in his last film Bheemaa but the problem with his latest film Paiyaa is the exact opposite. The film primes us for some good action and keeps us engaged when doing so but the action when it happens is rather underwhelming.

Shiva(Karthi), who lives in Bangalore, is determined to talk to the girl(Tamannah) he fell for the first time he saw her but hasn't been successful so far. So he is pleasantly surprised when a man, with the same girl in tow, assumes that he is a cab driver and asks him to take them to Chennai. Its Shiva's friend's car and he is there to pick the friend up but he shows no hesitation and agrees to drive them. At a gas station, the girl asks him to drive away leaving the man behind and then tells him about her story. Soon Shiva finds himself driving her to Mumbai.

Two of the most popular storylines in our masala films are the one where the hero rescues the girl from the clutches of the villain and the one where the hero unwittingly crosses the path of the bad guy and ends up going up against him. Paiyaa throws both these storylines into one film. Considering that there have some great entertainers based on each of those themes, it is a little disappointing that Paiyaa doesn't do more after combining them.

Paiyaa presents the familiar story arc of the hero winning over the girl(some individual scenes feel familiar too, like Karthi's query about Tamannah's dream husband and his reaction to her response, which mirrors an exchange between Vijay and Asin in Pokkiri) but makes it somewhat interesting by throwing them into a car. While some segments, like the one with the software professional, are over-the-top, the movie does a good job of exploiting the opportunities provided by a long drive to establish a bond between Karthi and Tamannah (Poongaatre... works nicely in the background here). Karthi's phone conversations with his friends, while injecting some humor into the proceedings, also gives him a natural way to voice his feelings without making it sound like a voiceover narration.

The banter between Karthi and Tamannah also works because it is a build-up to the action. With the goons chasing Tamannah and Karthi's revelation about his own past, it is clear there is a lot of action on the horizon and the interplay between the two is more like the calm before the storm. But the first fight deflates these hopes as Karthi shows us that he a superpaiyaa who can swat everybody, regardless of size, down like flies. The small hope that the main villain would prove to be more of a match is also destroyed as Milind Soman is dispatched with a single punch.

The proceedings further slow down once the two of them actually reach Mumbai. Jagan tries to pep things up but the address search and the happenings in Tamannah's house do nothing more than hamper the pace of the movie even more. Not that the climax shakes things up. With the only time Karthi receives some blows being when he is caught unawares, the climactic fights turn is another listless one-sided affair.

Though he plays an urban role, Karthi exhibits the same roguish charm that he used to such good effect in Paruthi Veeran and Aayirathil Oruvan. He's a bit flabby but is able to carry off the stunts convincingly. Tamannah looks cute and shares good chemistry with Karthi. Jagan gets a number of laughs in the little time he is onscreen while Milind Soman turns out to be rather inconsequential after all that build-up. Thuli Thuli... is wonderfully picturized with the couple of close misses between Karthi and Tamannah adding a nice touch while En Kaadhal Solla... is the only enjoyable part of the segment in Mumbai. Adada Mazhaida... takes place in a fantastic locale while Suthudhe... creates some even better locales through sets but doesn't work quite as well. Considering its a road movie, there are some glaring continuity errors as designs on the car mysteriously disappear and the car remains in pristine condition inspite of many noticeable dings.