Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi’s latest feature is a romantic dramedy attempting to push boundaries. Her directorial debut, 2013’s ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ was celebrated for its laid-back storytelling with quirky and fun visuals, the chemistry between its lead pair and Anirudh’s soundtrack. Udhayanidhi returns to this format with her latest film, with a higher budget, loftier ambitions and music director AR Rahman. Unfortunately, this has resulted in filmic disappointment.
The film follows lead duo Shriya (Nithya Menon) and Siddharth (Ravi Mohan), both of whom have lost hope in love after experiencing heartbreak. Shriya wants a baby by any means necessary and Siddharth refuses to bring a child into the world. A serendipitous sequence of events lead them to one another, however, conflicting life philosophies make it impossible for the two to unite. The film is firm in its 21st century stance. It features casual relationships, artificial insemination by a donor, a supporting character is gay. All these ingredients should make for an interesting exploration of modern life, however the film falls short of this. The story itself could have worked, unfortunately it is the way the story is told that lets this film down. Furthermore, the final act of the film is extremely predictable. As if on cue, when the third act ‘misunderstanding’ between the lead pair occurs, one cannot help but roll your eyes.
The performances are a mixed bag. Nithya Menon performs well as usual. However, Ravi Mohan felt a little robotic throughout. Yogi Babu’s Gowda and Vinay Rai’s Sethu did not add much to the film. TJ Bhanu has been an actress to watch since her breakout role in ‘Vaazhl,’ and her script selections are often unique. The highlight performance, a role that injected some much needed life into the film despite limited screen time, is Vinodhini Vaidyanathan as Shriya’s aunt. Vaidyanathan has been a fantastic character actress in the last decade, and she continues to be so in this small role.
Technically, the film is adventurous. The effort Udhayanidhi has put into creating this brave new world is evident in the bursts of colour onscreen, whether its a sharp use of animation, the bright cinematography or the painstakingly colour coordinated set design and costumes. Udhayanidhi has certainly improved her filmmaking craft, however it is her dialogue and the way she has directed her actors that have let her down. The performances feel even more stilted amidst this dreamy atmosphere, working sadly to the film’s detriment. Often, these filmic choices veer from feeling like a breath of fresh air to grating and immature.
AR Rahman’s score and soundtrack attempt to match the film’s quirky energy but are equally unsuccessful. The lead single ‘Yennai Izhukkuthadi,’ despite its booming electronic composition and Dhee’s vocals, misses the usual Rahman flair to become a fully realised track. The Shruthi Haasan track ‘It’s A Break Up Da’ suffers mostly from lyricist Snekan’s half baked verses. Another track which fails is the annoying Shreya Ghoshal sung ‘Baby Chiki Chiki’ which felt like a song composed for a television advertisement.
Overall, ‘Kadhalikka Neramillai’ is a film that fails to be groundbreaking due to being tied to the expectations of the genre. A film that pulls this off better is another Nithya Menon starrer, the Mani Ratnam directed ‘OK Kanmani.’ The effort exerted into this film unfortunately only reaps diminishing returns.
Krishna's rating: 2 stars
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Official trailer for film below.