ORU KAL ORU KANNADI MOVIE REVIEW

'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi', was eagerly anticipated solely for a single reason  - the combination of Rajesh and Santhanam. They've rocked in their previous two hits 'Siva Manasula Sakthi' and 'Boss Engira Baskaran'. Both films' comedy tracks have eventually become cult classics and the expectations on this combo to repeat it again in this film, was big. Also it is the entry ticket of popular producer and distributor Udhayanidhi Stalin as a hero into Tamizh cinema, which is an interesting aspect as we don't get to see producers turning into heroes. The expectations soared high when a short teaser trailer was released, which was amusing and humorous to the core. Added to that, Rajesh is teaming up with Harris Jeyaraj this time instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja who gave him chart-busting tracks 'Siva Manasula Sakthi' and 'Boss Engira Baskaran'. Is this a hat-trick for the Rajesh-Santhanam duo?

Udhayanidhi Stalin who makes his debut here, has chosen very wisely. He chose a script which was easy going and a good starter for his acting career. As expected from debutantes, he did have his flaws here and there, with ordinary dance moves and some expressions not being performed to the fullest, but still he did a decent job. His appearance on screen was pleasant and neat. His emoting skills are decent but certainly he should do much better in his upcoming films. His innocent, yet naughty personality was apt for the role and he should be patted for making a decent entry into Tamizh cinema. Hansika Motwani is a perfect choice for the heroine's role and kudos to both Udhayanidhi and Rajesh for choosing her. As Meera, she was looking lovely and her expressions, her body language, her comedy timing, and the lip-sync for Savitha's dubbing, everything was near-perfect. No mistakes, no over-acting and no letdowns. Job very well done! Saranya Ponvannan shows her histrionics in comedy and its a welcome relief to see her in comedy roles, a throwback to her "Veettuku Veedu Looty" television serial-days. The scene where she goes comes back to home only to realise that her loved ones' were looking for her was a joy to watch. A lovely and beautiful veteran, she is. The others in the cast like Azhagam Perumal, Sayaji Shinde, Uma Padhmanabhan, Swaminathan and delivered what was expected from their minor roles. Sneha, Arya and Andrea made cool and refreshing cameo appearances. But the whole movie belongs to one man and its none other than Santhanam. A total SCREAM and a ROCKING performance from him!!! As usual, he is at his best with his witty one liners and the movie is replete with it. His expressions, dubbing and dialogue delivery, everything was oozing in comedy and he deserves to be called the current King of Comedy in Tamizh cinema. Many scenes are testimony to this but the highlights are the in-flight sequence, the attempt to save the hero from committing suicide, and also the "Adiye Kolluthey" scenes. Santhanam carries the film on his shoulder and he has proved that he is indeed a very, very bankable star in his own rights.

The technical department in the film carries simple and neat work. Stunt choreographer Rajasekar basically has nothing to do other than the one small chasing scene and art director Jacki's work was limited due to many real locations being used throughout the film. Jacki's work of the interiors of the hero and heroine's homes was simple. Nalini Sriram's casual costume for Udhayanidhi made him look very presentable on screen which is vital for his boy-next-door role and Priya Manikandan's costumes for Hansika was very chic and credit goes to her for making Hansika look lovely on the screen. Vivek Harshan's editing was neat but he could have trimmed some portions as the movie was a little long, stretching to nearly 3 hours. Balasubramaniem's cinematography was very breezy and cool and it was a commendable job by him to shoot in live locations with popular artistes and also for showing Hansika beautifully on screen. Harris Jeyaraj is the other asset to the film. His song reflected the mood of the script which is being simple and breezy. "Azhage Azhage" was pictured in the deserts and harsh lands of Jordan and it involves simple choreography and cinematography. Hansika's costumes was eye-catching. Following the same trend is the "Akila Akila" song which was also shot in Jordan but in urban atmosphere. "Adada Adada" was done in montage style and it was the best-placed song in the film and mostly shot in real locations such as streets and malls. "Venam Machan" is the most favourite track of the masses and it has been a long time since Harris came out with a foot-tapping dance number. For the first time, Santhanam appears and dances throughout the song along with Udhayanidhi and it has simple and catchy choreography by Dinesh. Another typical catchy number of Harris is the "Kadhal Oru Butterfly" number. It has a mixture of montage plus choreographed sequence with the latter part having the choreographer Dinesh himself dancing to the tunes. Once again simple and catchy moves from him.


Rajesh's script is a very pretty thin one, which is the same as his previous films, where the story and logic are not to be searched for, but what makes the film enjoyable is the feel good, light-hearted screenplay along with the fantastic comedy portions. 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' shares certain similarities with his previous films such as the drinking sessions, comedic mother of hero, friendly banters and repartee and also Santhanam. Yet, Rajesh still manages to keep us engaged with the film, thanks to his witty dialogues and the chemistry he shares with Santhanam. He does brings in the twists and knots at the right time which gets us hooked on to the screenplay. Though the romance portion didn't really work out well and the angst of Azhagam Perumal's character towards Saranya's character was not well etched out and convincing, it still doesn't matter much as the logic and sensitivities are not bothered here. Enjoyment and fun was expected and that is what was delivered.

Is it okay for us to say Rajesh and Santhanam scored a hat-trick? Its not only okay, but OKOK! A movie to be watched with your best buddies around you.


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL