‘I have no regrets about the past nor do I worry about tomorrow. I believe in living my life to the fullest’. Ajay’s mantra sends forth enlightenment indeed.  Ad filmmaker Jayendra embarks on his directorial venture with eminent writers Subha involved in screenwriting.    Produced by Sathyam Cinemas in collaboration with Aghal Films, the film marks the comeback of Siddarth into Tamil film territory after 7 long years.

Ajay (Siddarth) takes a dip at shores of Ganges in Kasi and the very next shot we find him in search of a house for rent in Chennai. His high-spirited and good-hearted nature easily make everyone fond of him and so does Vidhya (Nithya Menon), a photo-journalist. Saying ‘Cheers’ to every moment, Ajay keeps the magic of happiness going on, but is haunted by his past memories of a beautiful wife Renuka (Priya Anand). 

Jayendra wields complete control over technical departments, especially on cinematography, costumes and set works. The strikingly spectacular backdrops and colorful costumes add more splendors to the screens. Incidentally, it’s an unforeseen experience for the audiences, as Tamil cinema had rarely seen such colorful visuals throughout the film. Dialogues are yet another spotlighting element for we find most of the lines simple and short, yet gain our attention vividly. A fair illustration is the dialogues between Siddarth and little boy Mano in Kasi, where he says, ‘Naan Mano va Vaalanummnu Aasa Padurein’, which ultimately gives a brief description about his characterization.

Chocolate boy Siddarth showcases matured level of performance effortlessly.. Be the romantic portions with Priya Anand or as a panic-stricken victim, we find him best in any situation. His rational thought during the climax is inspiring and ends the film on positive note.  Priya Anand’s glamorous appeal enchants us, but her performance remains mediocre. Nithya Menon excels in living up to the expectations. The sequences of cinema hall, enacting before mirror are some of her best strokes.  But again, it’s too silly to find a girl running behind a guy for no reason.  However her gestures are justified later, which indeed is a timeworn concept. Mouli with his witty-liners keeps us laughing during first half.

Background score by Sharreth is literally loud and harsh as he repeatedly uses the percussion and Kerala’s traditional instrument Chenda Melam.  Mild instrumentals or even silence at places would have enhanced the visuals to a certain degree. Never witnessed Kasi as beautiful as this and credit goes to cinematographer Balasubramaniem and so are the exotic locales of San Francisco and Chennai. Since Jayendra has been a part of ad filmmaking business, he seems to have purposely stressed more on lighting. Almost every indoor shot has a sun ray passing in, which seems to be a little unrealistic. Title song ‘Poi Sollum Pothu’ canned by Phantom Flex Camera (usually used for stunt sequences) is a good attempt while picturing of ‘Sandhikaadha’ and ‘Nee Korinaal’ is fabulous.

Jayendra gets going with creative ideas that surely deserve appreciations, a sample being the usage of  ‘Pudhu Vellai Malai’ song from Roja as the background score sparkling up the entire situation. Jayendra’s writing is filed with innovative ingredients that is going to garner lot of fans. But it would be the same unique narration that might not have takers among a huger section of the audience. Since the major twist in the tale occurs only after intermission, the proceeding does tend to make the viewers restless. At the end, one gets a feeling that the screenplay, especially in second half  might be the weakest link.

Verdict: Great visuals, wonderful colors, weak screenplay.