Harikrishna Dev

Sometimes, you just wanna feel good and reminisce about the good times when you stepped into a theatre. This movie falls in that genre in my watchlist of Tamil movies. To my heartbroken brothers and sisters, skip this unless you want to end up sending a drunk text to your ex, hoping for a reunion. Trust me, their 3-year-old just wants to watch Cocomelon, not witness your emotional relapse.

Nitya Menen has become the icon for true love, with her performances in O Kadhal Kanmani and Thiruchitrambalam. She truly stole the show with each scene. Even though the script demanded a strong female personality, most actors failed to bring it out with their acting and relied on dialogues in the script to establish the point. But Nithya Menen’s performance was seamless in execution, and her facial expressions made it easier for Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi as a director.  While Ravi Mohan’s performance was good, it wasn’t exicting. I’m not sure if it was the dumbing or the dialoges, there was something missing in his character.

It’s tough to make progressive points like being a single parent, pre-martial sex, dating, LGBT relationships, and women drinking and smoking in a family movie. Still, the film incorporates them into its storyline well. One of the first scenes with Nitya Menen is when she teases her mom that she isn’t a virgin with a light, funny BGM. It sets the movie’s tone for the audience to throw out notions that will cater to their conservative notions and warm their hearts.

Nithya’s character has a kid without getting married, builds a life for her kid, and doesn’t fall in love for her kid’s sake, which grounds her as a strong, independent woman. While she has moments of doubt when she searches for her baby’s actual father, she doesn’t make the whole mission to figure it out. Ravi Mohan’s character, Sid, is interesting as he changes from a staunch playboy bachelor to a man yearning to find happiness in a nuclear family. The transition shows how much he starts to love the family he could have. While the movie does establish that Sid is the biological father, the beauty of the film is that it doesn’t matter to the characters. 

While it may look insignificant, I love how a gay character is not overtly movie homosexual but just a normal person and is organically embraced by the storyline. Concepts like gay partners having kids , getting married and freezing sprem, is quite amazing in my opinion. This might get my grandma and my mom to look away, it is one step closer to them accepting these misconceptions as the new normal.

While there are scenes (like the final scene in the church), which remind you of O Kadhal Kannmani, “Kadhalikka Neramillai” is a romantic comedy that is an amalgamation of not so new takes on modern relationships (the reason why I called it a Kootu). Nithya Menen’s charming performance and A.R. Rahman’s enchanting music create a feel-good experience that captivates for over two hours. The film’s ability to balance light-hearted moments with intense emotional drama has struck a chord with viewers of all ages. It’s a movie that entertains and resonates deeply.