KALYANA SAMAYAL SAADHAM MOVIE REVIEW

'Kalyana Samayal Saadham' has a very friendly-friendly look and feel to it, but debutante director R.S Prasanna, had an undercover "agenda" in his script, which is one of the most discussed about issues among adults. Newly-married, to be precise. With an ensemble cast of supporting artistes and a fresh, young technicians, this Arun Vaidyanathan (maker of Prasanna-Sneha starrer, 'Achamundu Achamundu') produced, did it live up to the expectations ?

First things, first. The lead pair has done a brilliant job, with their performances. The lead pair looked like a perfect match for each other, and its certainly a fresh pairing. Prasanna, must be applauded for taking up this role without any inhibitions, which might stroke the egos of other contemporary Tamizh cinema heroes. He is flawless with his dialogue delivery and has delivered a nuanced performance, underplaying whenever needed. He has improved his timing, in regards to comic sense. Lekha Washington makes a comeback, and she is a very apt choice for the role of a modern, Tamil Brahmin, IT-educated, bride. One wish that she gets more good roles, especially when we have a scarcity of good-looking and an able performer, among the girls ! The lead pair shares a good chemistry as the love-smitten, engaged couple and complements each other's character, quite well. The supporting cast such as 'Delhi' Ganesh, Uma Padmanabhan, Ragav, 'Kaathadi' Ramamurthy, Dr.Sharmila, 'Crazy' Mohan, M.J Shriram, Praveen, Neelu, Srilekha Parthasarathy, R.S Sivaji and etc were really lovable and cute in their roles, especially the seasoned veterans. 

The film's technical crew has worked in tandem with the director's vision and presentation style, which is very commendable. Preethi Kanthan's costume designing was extensive, as she has kept the lead pair look very contemporary, yet retained the traditional Brahmin-look among the upper middle class, urban Brahmin community. Lekha was particularly pretty in the traditional attires. Sathyaraj.N's editing was neat and crisp, as he has kept the running time short and also for the excellent work he did in the "Facebook" themed song sequence. Arusamy's production design was simple yet sufficed the needs of the script. The Tamil Brahmin wedding scenarios and the beach-wedding, sets are the highlights of his work, in this film. Krishnan Vasant's cinematography works, is complimentary to the script's style and plot setting. He has maintained a pleasant look, throughout the film and his lighting gives a more joyous look for the second half of the film.

Flautist Naveen Iyer, prominent in the Carnatic circuit, makes his debut as music director, albeit under a different name, Arrora. His song compositions are in sync with the mood and feel of the script and also with R.S Prasanna's presentation. "Mella Sirithai" is the pick of the lot, which is very creatively shot and edited to look like a collage of Facebook timeline postings of the lead pair, with some situational dialogue sequences, interspersed. Brilliant stuff ! "Pallu Pona Raja" is a situational song, with plenty of montage sequences, focusing on the hero Prasanna, facing the 'crisis' of his life, before his impending marriage. "Kadhal Marandhaayada" is also a situational song, shot in a 'sangeet' ceremony setting, with plenty of characters and extras involved, but at the same time highlighting the unpleasant situation, faced by the lead pair. "Kalyanam 2.0" was used in bits and pieces in a couple of situations and "Modern Kalyanam" was used as the pre-climax song, featuring the reception function of the lead pair. Arrora scores well in the background music department too, and is definitely someone who can come up with pleasant melodies. Good debut !

R.S Prasanna must be appreciated for taking a bold, universal subject, which is seldomly discussed among newly weds and also for those who have an active sexual life. What's strikingly nice and pleasant in the film, is the realistic presentation by the director, who has penned life-like scenarios, surrounding the upper-class urban, Tamil-Brahmin milieu. Nothing is over-dramatized or very theatrical with R.S Prasanna's script and the dialogues, co-written along with producer Arun Vaidyanathan, are very subtle, smart, emotional, yet resonate a real-life feel and emotions to the script. The director seems to know the needs of the script very well, and has extracted good outputs from his artistes, who were helped by the director's well-written roles. Each character is very life-like and real, with very less cinematic approach in the artistes performance delivery. R.S Prasanna's screenplay is very straightforward and he has not tried any gimmicks, terms of techniques, which kept the audience at ease. As mentioned, dialogues are certainly good and comical, especially those by the lead pair and 'Crazy' Mohan. The second half seems to slow down a little, but the emotional content was needed to give, a more realistic appeal for the developments of the script. 

'Kalyana Samayal Saadham' - R.S Prasanna has handled a 'dirty' issue in a squeaky-clean, light-hearted manner. Certainly delivered what it promised !


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL