MOONDRU PER MOONDRU KADHAL MOVIE REVIEW

Director Vasanth has a special place in Tamil cinema for his films have always dealt with human relationships in a sensitive manner and have struck a chord with the audience. After his Satham Podadhe in 2007, he is back with Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal with Arjun, Cheran and Vemal. Very true to the title, MPMK is about the love stories of three sets of people with three different landscapes.

The emotion called love is ubiquitous and it touches people at different frequencies and at different dimensions. What this wonderful feeling does to its lead characters and its effect in the trajectory of life is what MPMK all about.  While mountainous terrain is the backdrop for Vemal and Lasini’s love, it’s the coastal belt for Cheran and Muktha Bhanu and its plains for Arjun and Surveen Chawla.

Vasanth has made the film in his usual style but a tepid pace works against MPMK. The styles of film making have changed and so do the sensibilities of the audience. For the current crop of audience who is low on patience and is restless to slow unfurling of the plot, MPMK may not work. That said, the plot is quite succulent and lofty which has a lot of positivity going with it.

We generally don’t find ‘cinematic’ family in Vasanth’s films and MPMK is no exception either. Be it Vemal’s parents (my family is such a happy one that we even laugh at the mention of the word ‘joke’) or Cheran’s parents (a father who is so happy helping mom and a mom who is so sensitive to son’s feelings) or Surveen’s practical father.  

It is not something new that Vasanth’s films are clean and are devoid of glamour or double entendres. Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal also follows the same path. Narration follows a very languorous path and hence the engaging factor fluctuates quite steeply. Arjun’s segment is the best followed by Cheran and Vemal. Dialogues sparkle on and off.

In the performance section, it is Arjun who scores over others and is aptly cast as a swimming coach. Cheran and Vemal are their usual self and there is not much for them to showcase their histrionics. Among the lady members, it is Muktha Bhanu who delivers perfectly as the love struck Mallika and she fits the role perfectly. Surveen who looks like a mix of Amala Akkineni and Kiran is adequate and her shots are well captured. Thambi Ramaiah, John Vijay, Appukutty, Shanthi Williams and Sathyan round out the supporting cast.

The songs of Yuvan Shankar Raja are already popular and gel quite well with the narration. Even though Aaha Kaadhal has been filmed fairly well, the power that the lyrics and the music had created has not been totally translated visually. Mazhai Mazhai number comes out trumps with cinematographer and music director having a field day with their respective departments. That apart, Ritwik Vasanth appears for ‘stop the paattu’ number and shows his dancing prowess.  Bhojan K Dinesh is in charge of camera and resplendently captures the moods of the different terrains.

Toting up, Vasanth’s Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal, although eulogizes love, works in parts with music and camera helping the story but his style has not been felt powerfully in the film.