After a resounding flop like Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven, which brought into question his screening process with regard to the stories for movies he was going to star in, Ajith needed a strong movie to make his comeback. Dheena, while not offering anything new, plays it safe by offering something for everybody. A story that involves a nice conflict, a cute romance, well-choreographed dance sequences, nicely-staged fight sequences and humorous dialogs(targeted mostly at the college guys) are the recipe for this entertaining mixture.

Dheenadayalan(Ajith) is the 'valarppu' brother of the local dada Adikesavan(Suresh Gopi). He is eternally grateful for this and lives solely to do Adikesavan's bidding, no questions asked. Dheena learns that his sister(Divya) is in love with a local boy but Adikesavan, who thinks the boy is harassing their sister, goes after him. Things turn tragic when this results in the death of their sister. Adikesavan swears revenge and orders Dheena to eliminate the boy's family. But Dheena, who knows that the boy is innocent and also loves the boy's sister(Laila), refuses. This pits him against the brother he loves.

The director, a newcomer, looks like he knows the pulse of the moviegoers and throws in the ingredients that keep all segments of the audience entertained at different times. The romance between Ajith and Laila is very cute with emphasis on laughs rather than mushy romance. Their first meetings, where Laila mistakes his occupation twice, and their subsequent 'accidental' meetings are funny with characters in the sidelines(like the store cashier) taking a small part in the proceedings. But the director also knows when to be serious. The questions Laila asks Ajith about his double standards when it comes to his own sister are well-written and add respect to her character.

While the director has tried to keep everyone happy, his main target is obviously the college-going section of the audience. Colorful college lingo is evident at several places and several lines of dialog(like the piece when Ajith's friends explains since when beer turned into a soft drink) are likely to raise the biggest laughs from this section. There are also lots of dialogs praising bachelors from Sriman and Balaji. Their digs at the old man in their apartment complex, while undeniably funny and cleverly written, will again tickle the funny bone of the college guys a lot more.

The director is also guilty of the usual mistake tamil cinema directors indulge in ie overusing melodrama to convey emotions while subtlety may have actually worked better. So, in order to showcase Ajith's bond with his family, we have a scene with workers who knock on their doors to check their ration card. Same is the case with Ajith getting his sister the things she asked for throughout her life. While the intent in both these cases is right, the over dramatization mutes the effect. On the other hand, the handling doesn't do justice to the emotional intensity of a conflict between Ajith and Suresh Gopi in the second half. With Suresh Gopi spending most of his time in jail, the conflict is reduced to a series of fights between Ajith and Gopi's henchmen. The climax seems too hurried and convenient and is more than a little disappointing.

Ajith looks a little flabby(Shalini must be a real good cook!) and needs to show some care in that area. Otherwise, he does a fine job, mixing his traditional cuteness in wooing Leela, with the fire and brimstone when dealing with the bad guys. Laila looks young and cute and capitalises on this, projecting an appealing innocence(like the scene where she describes the weapons Ajith pulled out to her friend). Suresh Gopi looks menacing but there is a forced artificiality to his dialogs that takes some of the shine away. Divya(seen recently in En Sakhiye) is adequate. Nagma appears in a single song sequence.

The movie excels technically with everyone involved doing a good job. Yuvan Shankar Raja's tunes are fast though none of them really stand out. But the sequences have been picturised well with the backgrounds and sets in a couple of the songs really catching the eye. Photography is good with a couple of well-placed, imaginative shots(like the one under the table revealing what Ajith and Laila want to tell each other) . A scene where the "shh" uttered by a character translates into the whistle from a cooker deserves a pat on the back for both the director and the sound technicians.The movie is a godsend for action lovers with several well-staged fight sequences.