After Adiyum Andamum, a fairly engaging psychological thriller, Kaushik attempts a different genre in his second venture. Pani Vizhum Nilavu is a rom-com with less of romance and more of comedy, largely of the crude, gross kind. It is about a campus love affair that turns sour and is rekindled years later, when the estranged lovers meet at a common friend’s wedding.
The early scenes that revolve around five college students and their friendship are breezy. When Hriday and Maya (Hriday, Eden) fall in love, she requests him to hide it from their friends. Hriday, who has a habit of playing pranks on others, finds himself at the receiving end of one. Hurt and humiliated, he leaves the place.
Hriday fits suitably in his role and Eden is a perfect foil. The group meets after three years at a common friend’s wedding. The rest of the movie is about what then happens to the love story.
The screenplay meanders, the narration is lacklustre. It is as if a small knot has been stretched out to a dangerous length.
In the second half,
it is the comic love track between Kovai Sarala and Pandiaraj that occupies more screen space. Murthy is also in the fray for Sarala’s attention. And when he is in the picture, can double entendre be far behind? The scenes with him and Hriday, who travel in the same bus for the wedding, is crude and off colour.
It is puzzling why the friends who knew the truth did not solve the misunderstanding between the lovers.
The ending is cute and brings a smile to one’s face. Apart from that, there is not much going for the film.
Film: Pani Vizhum Nilavu (Tamil)
Director: Kaushik
Cast: Hriday, Eden, Pandiarajan, Kovai Sarala, Venniradai Murthy