Malayalam seems to be a popular source for remakes these days with movies like London and Chandramukhi. Kannaadi Pookkal is another addition to the list. But rather than selecting an entertainer suitable for the masala trend that is popular in Tamil cinema today, the director has chosen a family-based, emotional movie to remake. He handles the remake with a firm hand and inspite of a few missteps, the result is a mature, touching and heartwarming film.

Sakthivel(Parthiban) leads a happy life with his wife Meera(Kaveri) and 9-year old son Vasudevan(Master Ashwin). Meera is actually Vasu's stepmother, having married Sakthi after his first wife died, but loves him like her own son and Vasu reciprocates her love. Feelings of neglect and lack of love creep into Vasu's mind when Sakthi and Meera become parents of a baby boy and naturally, spend more time with the newborn. The feelings lead Vasu to commit an impulsive act that has serious consequences.

Kannaadi Pookkal does a fine job of setting the pieces in place for the character-driven story. Kaveri's love for Ashwin, her father's dislike of him and Ashwin's reactions to both are captured nicely. Ashwin's happiness about getting a baby brother as well as the feelings he experiences after the new baby is born are also believable

The best part of Kannaadi Pookkal is that it never loses its underlying sense of optimism inspite of all the sadness on the surface. So the tragedy or the accompanying sentiments never seem manipulative and this makes the proceedings more touching. For instance, at the center of the movie is a tragic occurrence. But even during the aftermath of this tragedy, the movie's focus is on something positive i.e. Kaveri's love for Ashwin. The way Kaveri and later Parthiban react after knowing the truth is handled very well and such that we fully understand the comflicting emotions they are experiencing. Even small characters like the gardener have their place and care has been taken to flesh out all the characters. Even Rajkapoor, who at first glance seems to be a heartless police officer, is given a say in the conversation he has with Parthiban at night.

The movie's screenplay has been constructed solidly, with no loose ends or unanswered questions. The attention to detail is evident from the fact that the stage for even small details(like Sarathbabu having a special interest in Ashwin when he sees him in the juvenile school), is set earlier. The movie also avoids overdoing the scenes in the juvenile school. The initial scenes here and the scene where Ponnambalam enquires about a theft point to some familiar scenes of Ashwin undergoing hardship in the school. But the movie avoids the obvious route. The key scene in the movie, where Sarathbabu speaks to Parthiban and Kaveri, is convincingly handled too and his idea and the reasoning behind it make a lot of sense.

The movie does only a few things wrong but because of the nature of the movie and its subject, these seem quite magnified. One of the glaring missteps is the song sequence that starts off with Parthiban dressed up as a woman. It happens at a very inopportune time and sticks out like a sore thumb. There is also some unnecessary suspense in the final sequence that dilutes the effectiveness of the what follows it.

The star of the show here is undoubtedly Master Ashwin, who has carried the movie admirably on his young and frail shoulders. The role requires him to display a variety of emotions like happiness, jealousy, guilt, anger and fear and his thin face and expressive eyes are able to mirror every one of them effortlessly. He is simply brilliant in the scenes where he opens up to Kaveri and later, asks for forgiveness in the juvenile court. Parthiban understands the requirements of his role and underplays. Kaveri seems a little weak in conveying strong emotions but impresses overall. 'Pyramid' Natrajan displays his dislike of Ashwin well enough with his callous dialog delivery.