Kannai Nambathey Tamil Movie
The title seems to be largely inspired by one of the famous songs from the 1975 film, "Ninaithathai Mudippavan", performed by yesteryear star MG Ramachandran. For Udhayanithi, the leading man of "Kannai Nambathey", this seems to augur well off-screen considering his political ambitions. When it comes to on-screen, director Mu. Maran has done justice to the title with some sharp twists and a potent storyline that could have gained even more mileage with solid writing.
The movie is about Arun (Udhayanithi), a bachelor who is house hunting. He lands as a roommate for Somu (Prasanna). When Arun tries to help a lady, he gets into trouble. His roommate Somu puts him in soup and tries to work his way back by manipulating him. However, things get murkier as they traverse through the ordeals and it finally becomes a cat-and-mouse game between two warring couples. How did Arun manage to make his way out?
The movie had an awesome first half. It was so gripping that one could even forgive the lackluster romance between the lead pair. Even that romantic relationship has been justified as the story pulls in some characters from the girl's family into this melee.
The second half was also fine to some extent. The last 30 minutes were completely a disaster in terms of narrative which was in turn a consequence of erratic writing. In one of the promotions, Udhayanithi mentioned the ordeals while making this movie as it was started pre-pandemic and has been impacted due to the pandemic lockdown.
The delay and the subsequent rush to complete the movie with the dates in hand reflects on the screen. Character arcs are randomly strewn over. Dialogues were jittery. The staging was tentative. Even the lighting and other technicalities were also below par. The first and second halves looked like two different movies.
A song from the first half was hummable, and the background score was on par with any thriller film. For Udhayanithi, this was yet another 'good-hearted' role where he fights himself out of the mess. For Prasanna and Sreekanth, the negative shades suit them. Especially for Prasanna, it seemed tailored.
The supporting cast of Srikanth, Vasundra, and Marimuthu did a decent job. The narrative played spoilsport during the second half, making their performances moot. I have not seen actor Marimuthu in such a weak role, especially toward the climax.
Mu. Maran, who earlier came up with 'Iravukku Aayiram Kangal' seems to have clung to his famous thriller genre. His quest for spicing things up with gripping twists seems to be commendable, however, it was a job half done. One can blame it on the pandemic, but the industry should be more accommodating to factor in such films by giving ample chances to budding directors. The movie is watchable for its racy first half alone!
At any cost, I am waiting for another thriller that is "properly" made without any hindrances from the stable of director Mu. Maran. Until then, a warm hug for what he has managed to dish out with constrained scenarios. All the best!!
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