Director of last year’s breakaway hit ‘Tourist Family’ Abishan Jeevinth turns from starring in an extended cameo in his own debut to leading role in ‘With Love,’ a romantic comedy directed by Madhan (one of the co-writers of 2024’s romantic drama ‘Lover’). Also starring Anaswara Rajan, RJ Ananthi and Saravanan, ‘With Love’ is an attempt at a quirky take on the genre.
The film follows Sathya Seelan (Abishan Jeevinth) a designer who is set up on a date by his sister (RJ Ananthi) with Monisha (Anaswara Rajan) – a social media influencer. During their meeting, the couple discuss their love lives thus far and come up with a plan which involves them being together for the following few weeks. The plot for ‘With Love’ is a simple, predictable one; once the initial setup is understood, one can easily map out the trajectory the story will take. However, the primary issue with the film is that it feels extremely contrived. The plot points follow the template romantic comedy, with the compulsory end of second act misunderstanding that causes the pair to part. The romantic chemistry between the lead roles also did not feel strong and the comedic aspects hardly landed (with a notable exception being a non-sequitur moment involving a child on a train).
The cast play their roles with varying levels of success. Abishan Jeevinth requires more experience, especially with the comedic side of his performance. The highlight of the film is Anaswara Rajan, who carries the film deftly; her portrayal of a schoolgirl was wholly believable and her ability to evoke teenage angst mannerisms is praise-worthy. Saravanan as the schoolteacher Swaminathan provides the only other funny moment in the film, involving reprimanding his underachieving students.
The technical craft of the film is inconsistent. At certain points, the film is frenetic with its camera movements and placements. This is in the hopes of giving the film a quirkier tone, but unfortunately only makes it irksome. There is one moment near the end of the second act where a flashback is intercut parallel with the present day, a point which suggests a more sincere version of this film may have been a better direction for it. The score and soundtrack by Sean Roldan is also unspectacular, but adequately fits the tone of the film.
Overall, ‘With Love’ fails to be either romantic or comedic. There have been a number of clones of C Prem Kumar’s 2017 film ‘96,’ where filmmakers have attempted to recapture its nostalgic wistfulness, but none have been anywhere near successful. Unfortunately, ‘With Love’ joins that list. If you enjoyed ‘With Love,’ I would strongly recommend watching ‘96’ or 2024’s ‘Lover’ – a film director Madhan had a hand in writing, which is a much better product.
Krishna's rating: 2 stars
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Official trailer for film below.