After setting the bar high with his debut film "Soodhu Kavvum", Nalan Kumarasamy is back with his rom-com "Kaadhalum Kadanthu Poagum", an official remake of a korean movie. After a brilliant trailer that garnered unanimous praise from the netizens, the expectations for the movie sky-rocketed. With Vijay Sethupathi having back to back releases this year, will Kakagapo be a +1 in the hit list?
A love story of an uneducated rowdy with an IT professional - sounds impractical yet falls into the conventional elements in Tamizh cinema. Hold on. Nalan doesn't present you an unbelieveable love affair. There is a relationship that runs on the thin line between friendship and love, an unconventional romance, an underlying pain, an undeniable practicality and an unanswered question at the end - this sums up the unconventional love story presented by Nalan breaking the stereotypes. It is not a love story where a man chases his lady love till Kerala or USA to impress her. There is no hurry in the sequence of scenes. Nalan gives time for the scenes to evolve and the love story evolves too.
Vijay Sethupathi as "Kathir" is a gangster and Madona Sebastien is an IT professional. A very known catastrophe in the IT industry lands her as a neighbour to Vijay Sethupathi. We have seen similar roles from Vijay Sethupathi in his previous movies, but he is at his best when he teams up with Nalan. Madona makes a great impact as the help-seeking, desperate IT professional yearning to fulfil her aspirations. Samudhirakani plays a small supporting role, a cakewalk for him. The movie deals with the reality of IT industry during its run. Right from the "eyewash" interview panel to sexual harassment, everything is dealt with and they form a perfect ambience for the story. The screenplay is seamless - it doesn't test the viewer's patience eventhough the scenes take time to evolve.
Nalan Kumarasamy's attention to details, Santhosh Narayanan's placement of songs and Vijay Sethupathi's entertaining screen presence gives us an exceptional experience. There is romance on screen even when the lead pair don't even see each other. We have seen Vijay Sethupathi walking out of a bank manager's room with the "Soodhu Kavvum" BGM. There is one similar scene where Vijay Sethupathi walks out of an IT company, but there is romance, a sense of gratitude from the lead lady, a sense of relief from the lead pair that engulfs the frame. Kaadhalum Kadanthu Poagum is Vijay Sethupathi show all over and the response he gets from the theatre growing crowd is amazing. His carefree body language and his ease while delivering dialogues makes him the "special one" of Tamizh Cinema.
Nalan redefines "mass appeal" in Tamizh cinema. We have the hero beaten up by rowdies because of his carelessness and stupidity. The audience laugh at the scene that unfolds. In the next frame, he gets up and walks out wearing a cooling glass. We have the deafening screams of the viewers in the cinema hall - Were these scenes inspired from Vadivelu? The immediate thought that came to my mind is Vaigaipuyal teaming up with Nalan Kumarasamy for a laugh riot. We have humour throughout the show that is undisturbing. Santhosh Narayanan's BGM and placement of songs makes the movie a delight to watch. His ability to blend the songs into the narration such that there is no dilution of the script makes him the best in recent times. The songs come in splits and hence the narration has no hiccups.
Bottomline - Kakagapo : A Nalan Show!
