For quite a long time in tamil cinema, we have been treated to stories of young lovers standing up against their parents who oppose their love. Such movies, many of whom have been successful, have always ended with the families accepting their love or the lovers committing suicide. But whatever the case, the lovers stick together till the end, come what may. Love, rather than family, came first. With Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai, Fazil turned this whole concept around. The movie introduced us to lovers who placed their families above love and are ready to sacrifice their love for the sake of their families.

Tamil cinema has always played the 'copy game' with several directors queueing up to adapt a hit story and follow the trend. One earlier example was Kaadhal Koattai, which led to a string of movies with variations on the basic concept of a couple falling in love without seeing each other. Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai offered further proof of this syndrome. Following its huge success, romance with the blessings of the families involved became the 'in thing' and there were several movies like Jodi and Poovellaam Kettuppaar, which had lovers deciding not to wed until they gained their families' acceptance. Apart from setting a trend, Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai also solidified Vijay's position as the leader of the younger generation of actors.

Jeevanandham(Vijay), a B.Com graduate, is now doing his MBA. Its love at first sight when he lays eyes upon Mini(Shalini) in a bookshop. Mini is the apple of the eye for her three brothers and mother. They vehemently oppose her romance with Jeeva. When they insult Jeeva's parents, they too become opposed to the union. Jeeva and Mini elope and live in the house of one of Jeeva's friends. But while the friends begin the preparations for their marriage, Jeeva and Mini wonder if they need to continue as lovers when their families are opposed to the idea.

The movie, which proceeds much like a routine story with Vijay and Shalini's romance being opposed by their families and aided by their friends, surprises us with the path it takes. The talk Vijay and Shalini have in the hut is very sensible and touching and is a shot in the arm for the movie. Fazil then follows this up with a climax that makes us cheer. The whole sequence where Vijay's family visits Shalini is picturised beautifully and the way it ends is as surprising as it is spontaneous.

The first half of the movie is pleasant and never boring even if it treads the same path as several other romantic movies before it. Charlie and Dhamu provide the jokes as Vijay's friends and have several funny lines. Vijay's meetings with Shalini are very well handled and the writing is at its best here. Her reactions to his questions are natural and the development of feelings is portrayed well.

With family being at the heart of the movie, the relations between Vijay and his parents and Shalini and her brothers is as important as the romance. The first scene where Vijay and Sivakumar stage a small drama and Srividya's later reaction gives us an idea of their camaraderie. This affection between Vijay and his parents is more natural and fun though. Shalini's brothers' actions have more than a touch of melodrama and seem more cinematic.

Vijay plays the same lover boy role that gave him great success since Poove Unakkaaga. He isn't taxed a lot and is given a few oppurtunities for dances and stunts too. Shalini's performance belies the fact that it is her first movie. Her scared reaction to Vijay's advances and her confusion about choosing between love and family are mirrored on her face extremely well. Manivannan, at the peak of his acting career then, gets a song and some nice dialogs. Sivakumar and Srividya, who both probably have more acting experience than Vijay's actual age, make a likeable couple. Ilaiyaraja's haunting Ennai Thaalatta Varuvaala... stands out from the hit soundtrack. It was the first song Hariharan sang for Ilaiyaraja and the simple music and melodious tune are unforgettable. Oru Pattaampoochi... is the other catchy duet.