Mazhaikkalam, another youth love story, with a twist at the end. Well, we have had quite a few of these and the makers really have to strain their brains to make their product seem different. Is Mazhaikkalam different?

The answer is, except for the twist that reveals itself right at the end of everything, the film is nothing but another romance with a lot of scenes one after the other that show the young couple falling in love. There is not much of a story to talk about here, except the climax. It’s the regular boy-meets-girl stuff with lot of ‘destined’ moments that make them fall in love. In the end, the boy is so full of love that he is ready to ask her to marry him, but!

The climax is sensitive, no doubt. But, it is difficult to sustain any interest in the film for that period of time. The only thing that could have saved this movie was a romance that really worked on screen. That is easier said than done. The age old scenes of the couple walking in the rain under an umbrella, the boy picking up the books for the girl, etc. no longer give us any smiles. Then you have Kanja Karupu’s comedy; ‘sore thumb’ is a kind term to this track. Songs, which have to work in order for a romance to look good on screen, aren’t much help either. Saranya Nag gets her opportunity in the climax and does the job neatly. Sriram is there, not much more can be said.

Mazhaikkalam seems to have started off as a very interesting one line story. But, that one line is only in the climax. The rest is just as mundane as it gets. The makers ought to have developed their nutshell idea into a full fledged script which had interesting moments throughout. The movie had made news about its heroine featuring in a very bold scene. The makers had assured that it was not a sleazily shot scene and they have delivered on that promise; it does not look sleazy indeed. But, sadly, it is the only promise they have delivered, the rest is just a banal ride until the climax arrives.

Verdict: If only the film was half as good as its climax!