KADHALUM KADANTHU POGUM MOVIE REVIEW

Expectations destroy experiences. On the flip side, misconstrued expectations shock you. Good shock or bad shock - that's solely up to the recipient to judge. On the other hand, unpredictability is a different story.  It makes the audiences inefficient to expect. Guy Ritchie feeds on this inefficiency of his audiences. And in Nalan Kumarasamy, we might just have our own Guy Ritchie.
 

If we say Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum is a love story of an uneducated rowdy and a well educated IT aspirant, you'd stare at us as and ask, "Really, Guy Ritchie!" We wouldn't blame you. It does sound like the Pannaiyar Ponnu, Koil Vaasal Pichaikaaran love story.
 

But Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum is evolved. There's attraction, blatant expressions of love, then denial owing to the practicality, an underlying pain and an unanswered question that makes the audiences come up just with a theory that this is indeed a love story. Or, it could also be a revival story! What the leads are in the beginning of the film and what they become in the end is also an intense story, but told in an extremely light hearted way. Or is it about the people around the leads, who deceive them with false hopes.
 

Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum is like an incredible jazz music. Jazz is one of the very few genres, or probably the only one kind that has the unmatchable capacity to show any emotion. From romance, courage, heroism to struggle, Jazz can give it all. It might be slow, but never would you be able to stop swaying. Just like our everyday life, Jazz is unpredictable and so is Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum. You just have to keep swaying with it. 
 

Vijay Sethupathi is at his best in Nalan's hands. Although, his character isn't something that we haven't seen him play, there are dimensions that are fresh and entertaining. He brings in a lot of his natural self and wits that earn applauses and hoos in  regular basis. Madonna Sebastian is a charm to watch. Her first establishment shot garners whistles. What more can a debutante expect. And looks like the actress has taken the expectations rather seriously. Her performances are strong, yet, she hasn't compromised on the little expressions that levitate the adoring men off ground.
 

The supporting cast consisting of Samuthirakani, Kiran (art director) and GM Suresh give very strong hands in driving the film right.
 

Nalan, just like his choice of dialogues, also has a very intriguing sense of fantasy. His conceptualisation of the song Ka Ka Ka Po, the sequencing of it and the inclusion of the elements that revolve around the daily life of Vijay Sethupathi which he only wishes for, are masterstrokes. Credits also to art director Vijay Adhinathan, who has definitely done splendid work in setting up this particular sequence with such elegance.
 

Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum is also a very visual movie. Meaning the visuals contribute as much as to the story as the subjects playing characters. Cinematographer Dinesh Krishnan and editor Leo John Paul has delivered their best for the movie. There are lots of movements in the composing and the film demands extensive slow motion shots. Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum has few of the best executed works in recent times in these two much exploited techniques.
 

What would these new wave of directors do without Santhosh Narayanan? They'd be a Laurel, without the Hardy, an incredible string instrument, without any fingers to play it or a ray of brilliant light, without any vision to see them. The directors and Santhosh Narayanan complement each other and both might be incomplete without the other.
 

Santhosh Narayanan has literally used every kind of music in this movie, from gaana to jazz. The wackiness in the sound is what makes the film truly a treat to the ear buds too. The music elevates the narration to a different level and also introduces us to more international genres of music. 
 

Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum is a whole new experience. At the minimum, it might just excite you or even go to the extent of making you jump out of joy. Knock yourself out, we say.