KANAVE KALAIYAADHE
A movie review by Balaji Balasubramaniam
| Cast: | Murali, Simran, Chinni Jayanth, Kovai Sarala, Charlie, Dhamu, 'Delhi' Ganesh |
| Music: | Deva |
| Direction: | V.Gowthaman |
The entire first half of the movie takes place in Punjab taking
the viewer to places like the Golden Temple and Jalianwalla
Bagh which haven't been seen before on the tamil screen.
Unfortunately, the same originality does not extend to the
movie itself which is pretty much run-of-the-mill.
Anand(Murali), a tamilian, and Amrutha(Simran), a Punjabi lass, are in love. To convince her parents to accept him, Anand moves to Punjab, renting a portion of Amrutha's house. He soon impresses other members of the household including her parents and her brother, a policeman. Even though revelation of the love affair initially angers the brother, he soon calms down and accepts Anand wholeheartedly.
But with preparations for the wedding going on, Amrutha, along with her entire family, is killed in a bomb blast engineered by an enemy of her brother. Anand returns to Chennai broken-hearted but spots Saradha(Simran) who looks exactly like Amrutha. She too has had her own sad past and friendship develops between them. They decide to marry but her past catches up with her unexpectedly.
The entire movie is completely predictable and the climax even more so. Even Simran's death, the only 'twist' in the movie, can be seen miles ahead by anyone who has seen more than a few tamil movies. There is no chemistry between Murali and Simran and their love story rivals the one in Poovellaam Kettuppaar for unoriginality and lack of sparks. There is a slight rise in the interest level when the second Simran is introduced but even that is killed quickly once her past is revealed. The happenings in her past are so contrived and illogical that we know exactly what is going to happen.
After scores of movies like Desiya Geetham and Unnudan, Murali gets a chance to play a successful lover but only for a short time! With Amrutha dying halfway through the movie, he goes back to his trademark role of a sad man pining silently for his love. Simran looks pretty but has lost some weight. She proves her acting prowess once again after Vaali and Thullaadha Manamum Thullum with a playful part as Amrutha and then a more mature potrayal as Saradha. Picking some real north indian actors to potray Amrutha's family (instead of sticking an obvious beard, turban and accent to some tamil actors) adds authenticity to the initial portions.
The comedy track is a letdown with actors like Chinni Jayanth, 'Kovai' Sarala, Charlie and Dhamu. Though Deva follows his usual format with a couple of duets, a pathos song and a 'dappanguthu' song, Poosu Manjal... and Kannodu Kannodu... are pleasing to the ear. Though the photography is ordinary, we do get to see a lot of Punjab including unfurling of the flags at the India-Pakistan border.
