Kadhalikka Neramillai Review | A Passable Modern-Day Relationship Tale With a Delightful Nithya Menen

Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi’s latest directorial venture, Kadhalikka Neramillai, starring Nithya Menen and Ravi Mohan (He is no longer Jayam Ravi), is an interesting film that tries to talk about the thought process of the current generation about the concept of marriage, parenting, etc. Of late, we have seen a lot of Tamil films that are making these concepts of living together, situationship, etc., as the themes, and there is this over-explanatory nature to all of them where they are making sure the audience who has no clue about it gets to know what is happening. While that compromise and some of the filmy stuff are there in Kadhalikka Neramillai, there is a sense of easiness to the storytelling. With Nithya Menen’s innate charm, Kiruthiga’s movie becomes a passable romantic comedy that sort of sticks to its agenda.

So, the story revolves around two characters, Shreya and Sidharth. Shreya is an architect, and she broke her engagement when she knew that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Sidharth is a structural engineer who wasn’t a strong believer in the institution of marriage, and he was very clear that he didn’t want kids. At one point, Shreya, who is now single, decides to have a kid through IVF, and because of Sidharth’s no-kids policy, his girlfriend also left him. What we see in Kadhalikka Neramillai is the events that unfold in the lives of these two when they cross paths.

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How our heroine becomes a single mother through IVF is something that might only happen in a movie. But the story here is not about the logic of becoming one. It shows you the thinking process of that character, and the script eventually takes that character to situations where she will have a tough time explaining her logic. The hero, on the other hand, is against the idea of kids as he thinks the planet is already overpopulated. The reason why this love story, which has a woman who wants a kid but no partner and a man who wants a partner and no kid, works smoothly despite having no dramatic showdown between them is because of the way scenes are written. The conversations between them do not have the hastiness one would only see in loud commercial films, and a lot of times the vibe-check is done through mere expressions rather than verbal transactions.

Written by Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi herself, the film is not devoid of certain predictabilities, and some tracks aren’t used effectively. For instance, the whole professional angle of the leading duo felt like a mere excuse for them to see each other, and the movie is kind of avoiding possible professional conflicts. The episode towards the end where Sid’s ex makes a comeback is also your usual way of pushing the hero or heroine to admit what they are truly feeling. While the friendship subplot of Sid and the sperm donation jokes felt like those forcefully added comedy bits, the female camaraderie in the film had a very organic feel. AR Rahman’s songs are blended smoothly with the events in the script and the scores towards the end of the film are definitely elevating the romantic quotient in the scenes.

Nithya Menen, with her charming performance, is shouldering the movie’s feel-good factor. Like Sobhana and Tara, her expressive eyes really make Shreya a very real character. Be it the quirky portions where she admits her crush on someone or the way she asks her mother whether she thinks her daughter is still a virgin, to those casual yet romantic conversations with Sid, one can see her transforming into that character with ease. Ravi Mohan has the required charm to be this guy who has issues with commitment. Unlike some of the other movies in similar space he has done, this one does not demand him to be overdramatic and that sort of makes the character likable. Yogi Babu plays the usual comic relief character and the friends gang have Vinay Rai playing a gay character. It was so refreshing to see Vinay as a chilled-out character after having seen him as a villain in so many films. T. J. Bhanu gets to play the role of Sid’s ex-girlfriend Nirupama. Vinodhini Vaithyanathan as the understanding aunt of Shreya was also memorable.

One thing I really liked about this movie was the fact that it wasn’t trying to be this tale where eventually the rebellious characters agree to the fact that the conventional model is the most robust system. The film sort of finds a middle ground by showing us how the new outlook toward the idea of companionship would land in the current day. With tolerable commercial movie compromises, Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi’s Kadhalikka Neramillai works as a passable love story with highs and lows.

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Final Thoughts

With tolerable commercial movie compromises, Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi's Kadhalikka Neramillai works as a passable love story with highs and lows.

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By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.