Jiiva has delivered a refreshing and thumping performance as the cool, casual and handsome chap. His dialogue delivery and body language were so precisely, he embodies the character Varun Krishnan, perfectly. The spontaneous reactions and composed expressions, are the highlights of his character, though he was not entirely convincing as a school-boy, looks and physique, wise. Samantha Ruth Prabhu, was simply gorgeous in the film, and she too delivers a fantastic performance as Nithya Vasudevan. Her transition from a teenage 'angel' to a beautiful woman, looks and mentality/behavior wise, was smoothly handled by her. Its an advantage certainly for Samantha to dub in her own voice, which gives an authentic feel to her character. With more such roles, she could hone her acting skills even more, and she is definitely a good performer, in waiting. Jiiva and Samantha, literally lived and breathed as Varun and Nithya. Kudos to both of them. Santhanam was absolutely rib-tickling and smashing in his comedy portions. Though his usual teasing and double entendre dialogues were there, it was presented in a different style, which makes him look fresh. His scenes with debutante Vidyullekha Raman, parodying 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya' was a scream, with 'VTV' Ganesh, making a surprise cameo !! Ravi Raghavendra, Ravi Prakash, Sriranjani, Anupama Kumar, Christine Thambuswamy and etc were very apt for the film, and incorporated mannerisms and body language of typical Gautham Vasudev Menon's film characters.
The core of Gautham's favourite technicians are present in this film as well. First off, M.Ravi's stills, especially for the promotional posters, were beautiful and chic. Nalini Sriram's costume designing was a pleasant to the eyes of the viewers. The lead pair was looking simply ravishing, especially Samantha (Gautham's heroines are always portrayed beautifully). Rajeevan's art work was neat and in-tune with the script. The simple but wonderful sets for the songs, and the props for the plot settings, were very original and appropriate. Anthony was at his best as usual, with no gimmicks and tricks in the editing department. His work in the songs, especially the smooth transition from one scene to the other, was class. The cinematography was catchy, with correct color tones and appropriate angles for the important scenes. The pre-interval, lengthy scene, was shot well, capturing the emotional outbursts and body language of the lead pair. It was nearly impossible to differentiate the works of the three cinematographers who worked in the film but, S.R Kadhir, M.S Prabhu and Om Prakash, all share the credit for a neatly and aesthetically shot film.
'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja comes up with a beautiful and heavenly soundtrack. Most of the songs are gems in their own respective genres, but the instrumentation was fresh from the genius. Gautham Vasudev Menon, utilized Ilaiyaraaja extremely well, and the latter produced a wonderful, wonderful album which was recorded and mastered at the Angel Studios, England for which Anglo-Indian Music Productions was hired, providing singers, an 108-piece orchestra and percussion. "Pudikile Maamu" a half rock-half folk song, is the introductory song, with Santhanam opening it up, humorously. The dance for this song was stylishly choreographed by debutante Sathish Krishnan. There were plenty of cut-shots and it was precisely edited by Anthony, with good camera angles. "Vaanam Mella" is a flashback song, rewinding the past of the lead pair and a different color tone was used for the song, which was stretched for a longer duration. The pick of the lot, the melodious, "Saayndhu Saayndhu" was perfectly composed for the situation. It was placed when the love was proposed by the lead pair to each other by each other. This one too, has plenty of cut-shots and montages and smoothly edited by Anthony and some gorgeous art work by Rajeevan. "Mudhal Murai" is a situational song, showing the agony of the heroine living a lonely life without the romances of the hero. The song used montages and has plenty of close-ups of the heroine, but it sounds too heavy for the flow of the script. "Kaatrai Konjam", another situational song, highlights the travel journey of the hero in meeting the heroine after a gap. Actor Nani makes a smart cameo, in this song. "Ennodu Vaa Vaa", has some good camera movements and highlights the hero trying to woo back the heroine, and is also another situational song. "Pengal Endral" is a high-octane pathos song, showcasing the painful break-up of the lead pair, in montage sequences. "Satru Munbu", the final song, beautifully fits into the script and shows the sorry state of the heroine, fearing for the worst. This song too was stretched for the entire climax, portion. Ilaiyaraaja's background scoring is legendary and needs no specific mention, but here the magical touch was missing, since part of the songs were used sparingly as background score and dialogues taking more prominence, where Ilaiyaraaja, keeps everything else, muted.
Gautham Vasudev Menon has collaborated with Reshma Ghatala, in regards to the story, screenplay and dialogues of the film, and the pair has produced an excellently written script. The script was minutely observed and broken down, casually laid out, has in-depth and detailed dialogues. This is definitely Gautham's most maturely written love story, so far. He has taken off from where he left in 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'. The complexities of the nitty-gritty details of love affair and arguments between the love couple, were explicitly and articulately portrayed. Gautham's success starts from the sketching of his characters. They all look familiar, just like any other individuals next door, but to shape them up in just pure writing, is an extraordinary feat. The lead pair has depth in their characterizations and look realistic, believable, and contemporary, which makes it relatable for any young, urban folks out there. The imperfections, the egoism, the hustle and tussle, the pressure, the disappointments, joy, sorrow, and the powerful, deep love between the lead characters, were just beautifully portrayed. Dialogues are extremely nuanced, and measured, smartly written but are of the heavy-duty category. And also, Gautham smartly makes sure that the names of the lead pair are mentioned constantly throughout the film, which convinces our minds to register those characters as Varun and Nithya, instead of just Jiiva and Samantha. The love portrayed here is more organic and natural since, it has a beginning from childhood and we see it develop through their teens and early adulthood. All these does not stop only with the characters of the lead pair, but also extends to the supporting characters, especially to family members of the hero. However, the pace of the film suffers, especially in the climax, which moves in a leisurely pace, which can test the patience of many viewers.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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