A decade and a half ago, as a bachelor in mid-twenties, I was
astonished when I heard my father say that he had booked tickets for Mani
Ratnam’s “Alaipaayuthey”. Everyone knew it was Mani Ratnam’s comeback to the
romance genre after a bit of “experimentation”. I was wondering how on earth I was
going to watch a romantic (Mani Ratnam) movie along with my parents! “Alaipaayuthey”
turned out to be a classy entertainer and was nowhere close to making you
squirm in your seats as I feared!
Fifteen years later, Mani Ratnam again makes a comeback to
the romance genre with “O Kaadhal Kanmani”. I am now married, blessed with two
kids, with the elder being a preteen. As usual, I was one of the early birds to
buy my tickets as soon the bookings opened! Just a minute or so after the
online booking was completed, I pondered if this movie would be worth watching
with my preteen elder son, considering that it’s about live-in relationships.
And, just like “Alaipaayuthey”, Mani Ratnam again comes out with a wonderful
movie, hardly putting me in a tough spot, throughout the duration of the 150-odd
minutes movie!
“O Kaadhal Kanmani” has MANI RATNAM stamped all over it! Be
it the story, screenplay, dialogues, picturization of songs or the
lighting/camera, anyone with a little bit of knowledge on Tamil films will tell
you it’s a Mani Ratnam movie. Though the story might sound kind of risqué to
traditional audience, Mani Ratnam treads carefully and comes out with a winner!
Dulquer Salmaan, with his boy-next-door looks, rocks with his
performance. Don’t be surprised if he ends up as the heartthrob of college
girls, a la Karthik in the 1980’s/1990’s and Madhavan in the 2000’s. Nithya
Menen too comes up trumps with her performance. With her Taapsee Pannu plus
Preity Zinta looks and good histrionic skills, she is sure to capture the
imagination of youngsters. Special mention to Prakash Raj, for his subtle portrayal
of a husband taking special care of his Alzheimer affected wife.
PC Sreeram’s photography is just amazing. The very first
scene of the movie shot at a railway station, with the hero and the heroine
standing in two platforms facing each other, with one stationary train and one
moving train, shows his mastery! Mumbai city, shown in a greyish tinge for a
major portion of the movie, gives a fascinating feel to every frame!
AR Rahman’s background score again oscillates between pedestrian
and work of genius, though it’s the latter for most of the movie!
Cricket commentators commonly use the parlance, “Form is
temporary; class is permanent”. Watching O Kaadhal Kanmani, I guess this
parlance surely fits Mani Ratnam! After a forgettable Kadal, he comes up with a
winner, and how! But I am surprised he decided against a simultaneous remake of
this film in Hindi. I am sure the Hindi audience would have lapped up this
movie! Film critic Baradwaj Rangan, in his review in The Hindu, said you can
watch this movie with your grandmother. He is absolutely right! Go, watch it!
Its sure “paisa vasool”!
