"A young man who is dumped by his lover, takes her to court" - this one line is all that
Dhevadhaiyai Kanden is about. Probably convinced that this is a radical idea, the
director has blown it up into a two and a half hour movie. And therein lies the problem. The
key plot development of the hero taking the heroine to court takes place almost three-quarters
of the way into the movie since it is the climax of the movie. So the director is forced to
pad the rest of the movie with elements like romance, comedy and sentiments, which he doesn't
seem to be adept at.
Babu(Dhanush), a tea vendor, falls for Uma(Sridevi), a much richer college girl and his love
for her and his sincerity makes her fall for him too. When Uma falls sick and is admitted to
the hospital, her doctor Bala(Kunal) develops a liking for her and expresses his wish to get
married to her. Uma, who considers her contrasting futures with Babu and with Bala, accepts
Bala's offer. A heartbroken Babu takes her to court for cheating him.
A big problem with Dhevadhayai Kanden is that we never buy into the romance between
Dhanush and Sridevi. While there have been several rich girl-poor boy love stories that
have been believable, the love here seems a bit too far-fetched. Cliched elements like his
falling for her at first sight and saving her from rowdies don't help either. In addition
to the unconvincing romance, we also have to endure the antics of Karunas, Satyan and
Mayilsamy as they profess love for Sridevi and try to impress her. Their actions and
speech are loud and juvenile and never funny.
Sridevi even considering marrying Kunal after falling in love with Dhanush is quite a
surprising move for a Tamil cinema heroine. So it is quite a surprise when she actually
agrees to wed Kunal. But the scenes that show her contrasting lifestyles with Dhanush and
Kunal are portrayed well and convincingly. So we treat her decision as practical rather
than disliking her. Sridevi's conversations with Dhanush after her decision are very sharp
as she reasons out her actions and Dhanush alternates between pleading with her and
showing indignation at her action.
Once Dhanush takes Sridevi to court, we understand that the movie so far has simply been
the build-up for this. But the goings-on in court do not meet the anticipation that the
earlier portions built up. The arguments are simplistic and the behavior of some key
players are quite unbelievable. For instance, when the whole case is about Sridevi dumping
Dhanush, it seems quite silly for her to say that she has just seen him a few times and
that he was just an acquaintance. As her statements are broken down one by one by some
obvious witnesses, it seems more like a technique by the director to stretch the proceedings.
The way the movie ends is also predictable and has been seen too many times before to be
surprising.
Its quite a comedown for Dhanush after his superhero turn in
Sullaan but he is definitely more believable and likeable
here. His sincerity comes through well when he is talking to Sridevi and he succeeds in
making us feel sorry for him after he is dumped. Sridevi looks cute in some angles and
emotes quite well when explaining her actions to Dhanush. Karunas is irritating as usual
when attempting comedy but impresses when he is by Dhanush's side towards the end. Satyan
and Mayilsamy manage to irritate us along with Sridevi. Azhage Brammanidam... is
the only melodious and appealing number in Deva's soundtrack.
|
