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Dhanush continues his directorial journey with his latest film, romantic comedy ‘Nilavaku En Mel Innadi Kobam,’ featuring an ensemble cast of youngsters and newcomers. Perhaps wishing to create a ‘Thullavadho Illamai’ for the new generation, ‘NEEK’ introduces actor Pavish Narayan, Dhanush's nephew, as the star of this vehicle. Starting off his directing career with the middling romantic drama ‘Paa Pandi,’ which was followed up by yesteryear’s action drama ‘Raayan,’ Dhanush switches genres once again to try his hand at the romantic comedy.
‘NEEK’ centres around the fallout of the relationship between Prabhu (Narayan) and Nila (Anikha Surendran). Following their breakup, Prabhu attempts to move on by agreeing to an arranged marriage with Preethi (Priya Prakash Varrier). However, a wedding invitation from Nila confuses Prabhu, causing him to question whether he continues to harbour feelings for her. The plot itself plays around a pretty conventional romantic comedy structure. Unfortunately, what lets the film down most are the underwritten characters. Despite setting up a relationship between a chef and a foodie, the film only explores this dynamic on a superficial level. There are many references to Dhanush’s filmography, from the name of the protagonist, Prabhu (an often used name for Dhanush characters of the past), to a dog called ‘Harry Potter’ and certain scenes reminiscent of other Dhanush features.
The cast is a mixed bag. Narayan falters slightly in his romantic chemistry with his lead costars, however, his chemistry with his best friend Rajesh (Matthew Thomas - a good performance) is very well etched out. For his debut role, he has managed a decent job. The female leads Surendran and Varrier fare slightly better with their characters. The best performance comes courtesy of Ramya Ranganathan’s wedding planner Anjali, however, due to a much better developed character. Saranya Ponvannan is another highlight, as she usually is with any film she is in, playing the role of Prabhu’s mother with her own brand of comedic panache.
The technical craft of ‘NEEK’ widely varies in quality. Dhanush’s directorial vision adopts a lot of his brother’s look, using strong colour lighting to create a surreal atmosphere. The surrealism continues in the song sequences, another highlight of the film thanks to the special effects team, set design and costumes. All the song sequences are well conceived, visual treats. The issues begin cropping up with the other aspects in the film. Once again, the screenplay lets the film down, with the script requiring a few more revisions - clunky dialogue and plot contrivances appear too often. The editing is often amiss, disrupting the flow of the film. There are also a few dubbing issues.
GV Prakash Kumar’s soundtrack, mirroring the film, is hit and miss. The lead single ‘Golden Sparrow’ is a quirky track that grows on the listener with repeat plays. The standout track is the opening ‘Kadhal Fail,’ another of Poet-u Dhanush’s ‘soup songs,’ with lyrics and vocals provided by the director. ‘Yedi’ and ‘Pulla’ are much less interesting in comparison.
Overall, ‘NEEK’ could have proved a romantic comedy classic if it had been a more polished product. This is evident in the final gag of the film, which felt like something lifted out of a Shakespearean comedy of errors. If you enjoyed ‘NEEK,’ I would recommend watching other Dhanush romantic comedies such as ‘Yaaradi Nee Mohini’ and ‘Uthamaputhiran.’
Krishna's rating: 2.5 stars
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Official trailer for film below.