A veteran director of films (like Rasave Unnai Nambi, Pongi Varum Kaveri ), TK Bose returns with his new venture Kodaikanal. A love-adventure story that depicts the bonding between two small-time thieves and an actress, the lush hill station is the backdrop for most of the incidents that happen.
Thilak (son of dance master Cheenu) plays Surya, while Shekhar a popular dubbing artist (and son of TV and stage actor Rudrapathi), plays Nanda. The freshers play two petty thieves who inadvertently get involved in a murder and flee the place to escape the murder rap. After some mishaps the duo reach Kodaikanal and take refuge in a forest area.
Also on the run is rising actress Brinda (Poorni of Muniyandi Vilangiyal …) who being forced into a relationship with a film financier by her avaricious mother and uncle, escapes from their clutches and reaches Kodaikanal. She finds refuge with the twosome.. Being in her dark gypsy make-up, the duo don’t recognise her. With the cops and the financier’s goons hot on their heels, it’s the adventures of the trio that the director has at Kodai tempted to depict with some humour, sentiment and action. The climax is a well thought out one. The lead actors have done their parts adequately, particularly Shekhar, confident and expressive. Poorna has the look and the talent and plays her role with understanding. Kandeepan, a popular face on Malaysian TV, fits in suitably as the baddie.
The locales of the hill station has been well exploited and it’s not the usual ones that we get to see here. With the two guys and the girl sharing a close bonding, one would have expected to see yet another one of those love triangles. But it’s to the director’s credit that he steers away from this angle. It’s a fairly neat script, with the director’s attention to detail appreciable. But what goes against the film is it’s slow leisurely pace in the latter part of the plot.
expresso@epmltd.com
