The movie released more than 6 months back and was shot more than 3 years back. It was lying in the cans for reasons unknown. But the music was released in August 2009 and that caught my attention. As a music lover, I relished the songs, especially ‘Oru Kili’ and ‘Jillendru Oru Kalavaram’ and was waiting for the movie to release. Finally when it made it to the screens, I was unable to find it at any of the Bangalore screens until I finally decided to stream it online. Heartfelt apologies to the producer and director for watching a pirated copy!
Directed by debutante Andrew Louis, a former assistant of S.J.Suriya, the movie was meant to target the youth as a romantic retreat with a vibrant and fresh pair and their ensuing romance. Though the story finally leans on the boy-meets-girl cliche, it has got a sweet little twist spun into it that was interesting in the first half and the same turned into a vehement divide between the lead pair during the latter. Finally, there is no prize for guessing a happy ending!
Throughout the movie the director had imbibed a romantic undercurrent with the help of rich, lively and uber cool frames that were more biased towards the urban section of the audience. Given the scenario that the lead pair were showcased as IT employees has allowed the director to take some liberties in terms of a higher budget and some eye candy sets which would have been far fetched otherwise. I was happy that an IT organization’s ambiance was established with relative conviction because some of the movies prior to this have attempted to delve into the subject and have failed (e.g. ‘Yaaradi Nee Mohini’, ‘Ishtam’).
However, I cannot help but say that the story had some blatant loopholes that were liberally used to take the movie forward. Two employees working for the same company but seated across different floors, fighting without seeing each other for most part of the movie was a far fetched justification for me. But then, the director has tried to camouflage the fact and was partly successful with the help of a fairly engaging screenplay.
The debut lead pair of Mansi Parekh and Shiv Pandit were handpicked for the right reasons - both are alien to Tamil and Kollywood and both their profile could easily be passed off as IT professionals of today who are free spirited and liberal. I liked Mansi Parekh’s acting in particular - be it the way she expresses joy, grief, surprise or irritation, her body language and eyes take her to the finishing line.
Santhaanam was obviously roped in for the right reasons and he has done a neat job as an IT employee. His one liners raised laughter and his gimmicks has worked. The only sore point was that his comedy at times appeared to deviate away from the movie.
Music by Sathish Chakravarthy was very good and his background score added to the craft of the story.
Velraj’s cinematography was another character in the movie, as it had captured every frame with a romantic strawberry flavor.
Editing by Saravanan was above average as far as the length was concerned, but if only he could have shielded the awry lip sync of the lead pair at times, it could have been good enough.
Overall, the movie passes off as a lazy Saturday afternoon one-time watch with your partner beside and some homemade popcorn or a hot ‘n’ sour soup in an airconditioned room.
Verdict: One Time Watch!
Rating: 2.5/5
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