Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru review: Rajesh is back in his element here

Rajesh has managed to regale audiences with humour that had a blend of the verbal, the situational and the slapstick.
Poster of Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru
Poster of Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru

Comedy is his forte. And despite the wafer thin story line of his films, Rajesh has managed to regale audiences with humour that had a blend of the verbal, the situational and the slapstick. Here too, a road film with a love triangle of sorts weaved in, the director has followed a similar pattern. But while in the first half he has stepped up the interest and the momentum with episodes that are truly fun-moments, in the second part he struggles to sustain the tempo, the speed slackening a tad.

The story centers on Kumar (Prakash) engaged to be married to lady love Priya (Galrani). Before his wedding, Kumar with his buddy Balaji (Balaji), takes a roadtrip, a bachelors outing, to Pondicherry. When Kumar after a night of revelry wakes up to find the car, his friend and his wallet missing, we suspect it could be yet another spin-off on the Hangover scenario. But thankfully it’s not.

Nothing much happens at the place, except Kumar getting nostalgic about his first love Nancy (Anandi). The narration takes a flashback-mode to the turn that love affair had taken. It’s mainly the happenings on the return journey that it tracks, as the friends go through various misadventures. And it’s here, post interval that the director seems to lose his grip on the narration. The whole encounter with a corrupt cop (Prakash Raj) and his team on the return journey, is the longest of the episodes and the weakest link too. Though, the actors do try to pep up the moments here. Towards the latter part, it even takes the horror-comic mode with the entry of Rajendran. But we could have done without that ‘ghostly’ encounter and the song that went with it.   

Director M Rajesh
Director M Rajesh

The screenplay is more like a string of comic episodes strung together, each following in quick succession. Like the early episode with Urvashi who plays the host on a reality show. The actress in the brief space given generates some fun moments. Rajesh’s dialogue sparkles with humour and wit, the actors making the most of the one-liners. GV Prakash is at his comic-best. He has totally let down his defense and is completely in tune with his character. Effortlessly enacted is the scene of his encounter with the church priest and the one with Nancy’s father (MS Bhaskar).

The heroines fit suitably in the space they have been given. Santhanam a regular in the director’s early films is missing here.But Balaji with his pitch-perfect comic timing is an apt replacement. He gets to travel with the hero throughout and is a key supporting factor. The film should be a game changer for him. A fairly engaging entertainer, the film may not be as enjoyable as the director’s earlier couple of films.

But it is far better than his last outing Vasuvum Saravananum..... (2015) !

Movie
Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru
Cast
GV Prakash, Nikki Galrani, Anandhi, RJ Balaji

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com