Centered on Raghu, a violin player for films in Chennai, the story traverses through various places, as Raghu on a journey of redemption, reminisces about his past. The film opens promisingly, with a very realistic depiction of Raghu’s childhood in a village in Madurai. And the unfortunate incident that changed the course of his life. But somewhere along the way, the debutant director is unable to sustain the same interest and pace. The frequent cuts to the past are jerky and unevenly spaced And some of the crucial scenes lack conviction.
The scenes between Raghu, his wife and little daughter are natural. So also the scenes where the wife berates him for his sudden strange silence. If only the dialogue wasn’t filled with so many metaphors and similes, which gives a touch of drama to the performance of Aparna, otherwise a spontaneous actress. The plot picks up momentum and an element of suspense, when the reticent Raghu one day suddenly packs his bags and leaves home, leaving his wife in shocked bewilderment. It was a journey to the past, to Kanyakumari, to exorcise his guilt for having inadvertently wronged a dear one. In the frequent cuts to the past, we get to learn of Raghu’s schooling in Madurai, his friendship with classmate Dhana and his sister Bharati, of his being rendered blind, and the restoration of his sight decades later (why the long delay is unexplained), of father Joseph (Sharat Babu) his constant supporter, and of his love for Bharati, and the circumstance that made him take the extreme step (not very convincing) to get away from her.
Kannukulle has a plot with the potential to turn into a different and an emotion-packed entertainer. If only the debutant director had worked his script in a more coherent and convincing way.