KAADHALAA KAADHALAA
A movie review by Balaji Balasubramaniam
| Cast: | Kamalhaasan, Prabhu Deva, Soundarya, Rambha, M.S.Viswanathan, Mouli, Srividya, Cho, Vadivelu, 'Kovai' Sarala, Haneefa, 'Crazy' Mohan |
| Music: | Karthik Raja |
| Direction: | Singeetham Srinivasa Rao |
Kamalhassan and 'Crazy' Mohan have had some memorable associations before. Aboorva Sagodharargal and Michael Madhana Kamarajan are two of their films that I enjoyed immensely. Kaadhalaa Kaadhalaa, inspite of being a zany, full-length comedy and having Prabhu Deva along for the ride, isn't quite in the same league as those two. It sure is funny in spurts but a long way from the laughfest that the combination of Kamal, Crazy and Singeetham could have produced.
Ramalingam(Kamalhaasan) and Sundaralingam(Prabhu Deva) are orphans taking care of several other kids who too were abandoned by their parents. Sundaralingam is an aspiring painter while Ramalingam indulges in various frauds to earn money. Ramalingam falls in love with Sundari(Soundarya) whose father(Mouli) is a businessman always on the move. Sundaralingam loves Janaki(Rambha) and they get married against the wishes of her parents(MSV and Srividya). Janaki, to soothe her father's anger, tells him that she has a baby but when he arrives circumstances force Ramalingam to act as her husband. This in turn forces Sundaralingam and Sundari to pose as a cook and maid respectively. More drama ensues with the arrival of Sundari's father(Mouli), Ramalingam's old crook-buddy(Haneefa) and Janaki's perenially suspicious uncle Singaaram(Vadivelu).
In movies like this, logic is completely abandoned at the expense of laughs and that is not necessarily a bad thing provided the comedy is continually funny. But the comedy here doesn't always work. While the movie is replete with wordplays(the stuttering Prabhu Deva and Madan Bob become 'thikku' friends) and 'kadi' jokes(when Soundarya suggests pinning the curtains, Kamal praises her 'pin budhi'), many of them seem forced. They stand out without blending into the screenplay, which lessens their effect. So the whole movie feels more like a stand-up comedy routine with a string of jokes - not logically following one another - put together. And in several cases, the punchline is obvious even as the joke is being built-up, resulting in muted laughs when it comes.
But at the places where the dialogs work, the result is hilarious. The Robertson-Williamson piece when Kamal goes to sell his painting is one such place. The comedy gets better as the movie progresses and the scenes where everyone puts on an act in front of Mouli are the best in the movie. Just see Kamal and MSV take turns in explaining the relationships to Mouli. The climax isn't a complete disaster(as it was in the earlier Kamal-Singeetham venture Michael Madhana Kamarajan) and has its share of laughs. Mouli has what is arguably the funniest line in the movie during the car chase in the climax.
Kamal's timing and delivery - all important in a comedy - are perfect but he does look aged. His dancing too looks strained, especially during the dance with Prabhu Deva. Prabhu Deva is completely subdued. Kamal already gets the lion's share of lines and even the few lines Prabhu Deva starts are completed by others because of his stutter. He does get one solo song with Rambha though. M.S.Viswanathan is surprisingly effective with his "Thappu Pannitten, Thappu Pannitten" worries. The rest of the cast does its job and nothing more. While seeing an aged Kamal, a bearded Prabhu Deva and even 'Omaguchi' Narasimhan as Lord Muruga can be condoned in the name of comedy, Rambha(as Lord Muruga's consort), dancing crudely while singing Ek, Do, Theen..., even if only for a couple of seconds, oversteps the boundaries of comedy to descend into just plain bad taste.
Karthik Raja has another unimpressive soundtrack barring the dappanguthu Kaasu Mela.... Saravana Bhavaguga... is melodious but is strangely used in more of a comic situation. Thakitathathithom Annaachi... sounds good in the background of all the chaos and made me wish they had included the second paragraph too in the movie.
