Sridhar, an intriguing title indeed! As per the crew, the nomenclature points its reason to veteran film maker Sridhar and this is the crew’s way of paying their tribute the legend. And of course, hero Siddharth goes by the same name.

Sridhar, for those uninitiated, is the dubbed version of the Telugu flick ‘Oh my friend’ and is directed by Sriram with Siddharth, Shruthi Haasan and Hansika helming the lead roles.

We have seen quite a few films that have sung paeans about friendship, love and the thin line separating the two. Sridhar, also talks about the same but in a quite endearing manner that is likely to tug at a few heart’s strings. The director has ably demonstrated the beautiful relationship that exists between a man and a woman and how it is difficult for them to continue in the same level and their pangs of having to choose one for the other.

This premise may not be something new to Tamil cinema but Sriram lends a fresh touch and contemporary feel and gives a ‘feel good’ experience. 

There are just about few characters and the director has spun his tale around them in a fairly linear fashion, having the audience’s attention for most parts. The performance of the lead artists especially Shruthi Haasan and Siddharth helps the director achieve his objective.

Shruthi Haasan is spontaneous and natural and her growth as a performer is evident. It is an easy ride for Siddharth who had essayed such roles in few of his earlier films, all the same, a neatly crafted portrayal indeed.

There is not much scope for Hansika in Sridhar but as a helpless lover, she delivers the goods. Navdeep who features after the intermission gets his acts right. The supporting cast of Thanikala Bharani and Lakshmi Ramakrishnan is apt. While M S Bhaskar’s voice perfectly suits Bharani, the same cannot be said about Siva Karthikeyan who has dubbed for Siddharth. In fact, this is the major drawback of the film.

Having heard Siddharth’s voice, it is very difficult to accept Siva Karthikeyan’s voice especially the English segments where Karthikeyan's diction sounds very rustic and unrefined and does not match Siddharth’s urban character.

Sharp and expressive dialogues like “namakku mathila irukkara space yaaro occupy pannikittu irukkara maadiri irukku”, “purushan pondaatti friends aaga mudiyalennaalum, best friends purushan pondaatti aaga mudiyum” add significant value to the film.

The scene where Shruthi instructs Hansika to take care of Siddharth and Hansika’s reaction to the same is a good example of the relationship that exists between Shruthi and Siddharth and how that can be construed by others.

The Telugu feel in the few minutes in the first half takes some time to wear off and showing minarets and telling them to be at Chennai could have been avoided. Siddharth and Hansika are shown as school mates who have lost touch but Siddharth’s dialogues about Hansika losing in the college beauty contest cannot be explained.

Music of Rahul Raj is functional and it is not anything that you will hum the next day. Art direction is another minus as the work is too obvious.  Cinematography is unobtrusive, pleasant and brings out the mood. 

In all, Sridhar is a charming tale of friendship that would appeal to all those who value this noble relationship and would stand for it against all odds.

Verdict: Endearing and neat