Few movies in recent times can boast of having strong stories. But other factors like strong screenplays, nice dialogs, good performances and enjoyable comedy can rescue such movies, making them very entertaining. The situation is different in Alli Thandha Vaanam which contains a story that veers off in several different directions but contains almost nothing else to engage the viewer.

Satyan(Prabhu Deva) is the no-good son of a rich businessman(Mouli), who lays down a challenge to his son to spend three months in Chennai on his own. Success means happiness for the father and the reins of their company for the son. On the streets, Satyan befriends a small girl Julie(Baby Kalyani) and alongwith her, steals a box from a stranger Madhavan(Murali). Realising that the suitcase contains Madhavan's medicines, they return it but Madhavan has already become violently ill without his medicines. So Satyan admits him to the hospital and impersonates him to get the money needed for his operation.

The movie contains one of the most haphazard storylines in recent movies. It starts off making us believe that it is a rags-to-riches story about Prabhu Deva finding success on his own in the city. After spending some time detailing his friendship with the little girl(who has her own sentimental story along the lines of Kutty), it veers off into mistaken identities with Prabhu Deva impersonating Murali. These segments though, seem to be done with an eye on comedy. And apart from all of this, Vivek's comedy track, which has no connection to the main track, pops up at unsuitable times. It looks like the director developed the story as he went along and the tone of the sequences depended on his mood for the day!

The most forgiving viewer might consider the meandering storyline as a sign of a strong story where several things happen but unfortunately, even for such a viewer, none of the segments have the ability to entertain. Characters behave as dictated by the needs of the screenplay, with alarming inconsistencies. Inspite of two heroines, the romances are threadbare and we never really care about who Prabhu Deva gets together with in the end. The only sequences that offer some solace are Prabhu Deva's segments with Baby Kalyani. She is cute, acts well without overemoting and even matches Prabhu Deva's steps in the song sequences.

Prabhu Deva seems disinterested and sleepwalks through the role. He inhibits his dancing as usual but a few steps during the song sequences show us that he still has the goods. Laila, who has been lucky in recent times with a few hits, is irritating here with the director assuming that anything she does looks cute. Neha has too little screen time to make any kind of impact. Prakashraj plays the usual villain, exposing all his misdeeds to anyone he talks to. Vidyasagar's tunes are catchy. Both Kaasu Kaasu... and Kannaale Miya Miya... offer some nice beats for Prabhu Deva. Vaadi Naattukkaattai...'s picturisation reminds one of Erraani... from Kaadhalan.