KADHAI THIRAIKKADHAI VASANAM IYAKKAM MOVIE REVIEW

“A movie without a story”, “Tribute to one hundred years of cinema”, says the tagline of Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam directed by Radhakrishnan Parthiban who is famous for his penchant to be different. And he continues to establish this fact in Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam (KTVI).

KTVI as demonstrated in the trailer is about a bunch of creative people who want to make it big in the film industry. In a way, it is cinema within cinema.

In a Parthiban film, you would always feel his urge to be unusual from the crop and KTVI is no exception. And this time around, it is not for the sake of being different, he is different. His ‘difference’ gels with the story! His sharp dialogues, play with words, the manner in which he moves the script and his characterizations thump his stamp in a very entertaining manner.

There is almost a mini army of established artists in the film in the form of Prakash Raj, Vishal, Arya, Vijay Sethupathi, Amala Paul, Cheran and Taapsee. Of these, Arya and Amala Paul’s roles are more than a cameo. Vijay Sethupathi’s explanation of pazhaya soru and biriyani is quite cool! UTV Dhananjayan also features as a producer.

Even though there is an undercurrent of seriousness with the characters wanting to make it big in their life, the levity in every frame makes KTVI a pleasant enterprise. And this is achieved big time in the razor sharp pun soaked phrases of Parthiban, the examples being ulunda vadai, ottai ulla CD, koyyaa pazham, irumaappu to name a few. Parthiban’s ladies are always intelligent and sensuous and the characters Daksha, Shirley and Deepa also follow the path.

For most of the part, Parthiban is on an analyzing mode of cinema in different eras. And he does not lose an opportunity to tip his hat in favor of the intelligence of today’s audience. The pre-interval block on a kind of self-judging tone is quite fascinating when he wonders through his audience the kind of FB/twitter status his film would receive and the first half and second half delineations.
 
Through the character of a maid, he echoes the question of numerous viewers - do people who are involved in the film actually watch their finished product? Or else how does one justify such huge failure rates?  

KTVI is a Thambi Ramiah film all through and the man simply rocks. Parthiban’s dialogues when mouthed by the veteran, take on a different dimension altogether. Of the other cast, Vijay Ram (playing Murali) stands out for his casualness and Akila Kishore (Daksha) is hugely helped by Suchitra’s voice.

The technical aspects are just about functional with the Kaatril Kadhai Irukkum number lingering on for a longer time. Like how his characters struggle to arrive at the perfect story, there are moments when the director stutters, meanders a little to arrive at the climax. Despite all those joyful moments in the theatre, there is something amiss in KTVI which would have given this piece a totality, perhaps a cohesive binding factor? Or perhaps better initial part of second half to match a very creative first half. If you overlook these, KTVI is a decent watch. But one piece of advice, definitely stay in the theater till the last second.