Friendship, destiny and sheer coincidence; these are the three most prominent players in Vaada Poda Nanbargal. Directed by debutante Manigai, and consisting predominantly fresh faces in lead roles, Vaada Poda Nanbargal tells the story of friendship of two young men from vastly different backgrounds. The title suggests a fun filled account of a friendship where both the boys involved are on back-slapping terms with each other.

There have been many films in the past which have used the universal theme of friendship to reach out to audiences even without the presence of any stars. Vaada Poda Nanbargal also looks to travel along the same path. The difference here being that the two friends have not seen each other; their friendship starts from the current generation’s favourite online hobby – the chat, and grows through other modes of telecommunication like the mobile phone etc. The director must be acknowledged for being very contemporary here. But, what good is an online friendship, one might ask. How much faith and connection would such friends have in each other? This friendship too is like that to start with. But, a fortunate turn of events, thanks to technology and photo sharing, makes one of them regain something very valuable in his life which makes him greatly indebted to his friend. That is where the bind gets stronger. But, an online friendship, does have its own limitations. The very technology that made them friends in the first place also plays spoilsport; online identities which are far removed from real life; and threatens to mar the relationship, again through a thoroughly unexpected sequence of events.

At the outset, the premise does look interesting – friends who have never seen each other! This kind of concept has worked before; except it was not about friends, but lovers. Here the director fails to create the same suspense or magic which goes with a very strong relationship where the people involved have not seen each other. Part of the reason for that is the sequence of events in the script. A linear pattern of narration makes the goings on very plain. Also, the director has not been able to make the audience feel the depth of the friendship which works against the movie. More importantly, the sequence of events which leads to the strengthening of the friendship looks far too serendipitous to digest easily. Likewise, the event that leads to the final face off also looks a bit trivial; a matter of stretching a minor quarrel too far. Another major drawback of the film is the failure to build effective characters sketches of any of the protagonist. Even though the film shows the daily personal lives of both the friends, the sequences look disjointed, fragmented and ultimately have very little bearing on the friendship and ultimately the plot. Most of the parts where the script wanders out of the friendship track and into the personal lives of the protagonists can be considered as pretty inconsequential portions of the film. On the whole, it is a script that lacks cohesion that has spoilt the party for Vaada Poda Nanbargal.

The film does give the look and feel of one that has been brought out by a bunch of newcomers. They have tried hard, no doubt, but have failed to reach the professional level of film making. Almost all departments, camera, editing, re-recording, are a notch below what would be considered par in Kollywood at present. The fresh faces on screen too have not made a great impression, though one cannot fault the earnestness of their attempts. Music by debutante Siddharth also does not stand the movie in any great stead.

Vaada Poda Nanbargal is an account of two friends which fails due to a general lack of focus in the script.

Verdict: This friendship lacks cohesion!