Majeed has clearly hoped that his Kee. Mu. would become this year's Kaadhal. But he has failed to realize that Kaadhal became a hit not simply because of its storyline(which was one of the oldest stories in Tamil cinema) but because of its originality in handling the familiar storyline with stark realism. That originality is what's missing in Kee. Mu., which comes off looking like a clone of Kaadhal. With its realism and good characterization, the film does have its positives but the similarities to Kaadhal are just too many to ignore.

Saravanan(Hasan) works as a delivery boy at a meat stall. Ramya(Sarika), who is irritated by him for no particular reason, taunts him initially and then professes love for him, only to send him on a wild goose chase. But chastised by his words, she really falls for him. When her dad Bhavani(Saranraj), a powerful dada, learns about her romance, he's not happy, which prompts Ramya to elope with Saravanan.

The rich girl-poor boy romance has formed the basis for several Tamil films over the years and many of these films have managed to add something new to the familar story and seem fresh. So another film based on the story is not surprising. What is surprising though is how closely Kee. Mu. resembles Kaadhal, which, because of impact it had on us, is still fresh in our minds. From the realistic atmosphere to the characterization of its young leads to the general direction of the screenplay after they go on the run, every aspect of the film reminds us of the earlier film. Since emotions are always diluted the second time around, none of those aspects are as effective as they were in Kaadhal. For an emotional film that obviously hopes to touch our hearts, that lack of effectiveness is pretty damaging.

Romances that are cinematic and populated by uninteresting characters far outnumber those that are realistic and populated by down-to-earth characters. So inspite of its similarities to Kaadhal, Kee. Mu. works because of its realism. Hasan and his friends create a very believable gang of close friends and the circumstances that lead to the romance between him and Sarika, even if cliched in that it follows the usual trend of modhal before kaadhal, is acceptable. The situations they are caught in after they go on the run and the actions they take in response to them are also believable and so there is genuine suspense about their fate.

By making Saranraj an interesting character rather than a one-dimensional caricature, the movie manages to keep us guessing about how things will proceed. And things do not proceed completely as expected either. Keeping us wondering about what is going to happen is usually the best way to guarantee our involvement in the movie but it is not exploited fully since the opening(the whole movie is a flashback) has already given us an idea about how the movie will end. But inspite of this - and the fact that the direction the story takes reminds us briefly of another, more famous movie - the ending does have an impact. Surprisingly, the fate of a character who had so far remained in the sidelines hits us harder than that of the leads because of its unexpectedness.

Hasan and Sarika fit their roles well though its difficult to imagine more opportunities for them based on their looks or their performances. Saranraj, reliable as always, brings something new to the cliched role of the strict yet affectionate father. Vadivelu indulges in his now-familiar brand of humor as a shopkeeper who comes up with some new ways to increase the stocks of items in his store.