Sillinu Oru Kadhal

Every couple secretly wishes to be together atleast for 7 births when they are in love, may be this wish changes once they are married. Sillunu oru Kadhal is the 7th time Surya and Jothika have paired together in reel life before they tied the knot in real life. Debutant director N.Krishna has done a fine job getting the best out of Surya, Jothika, and Bhoomika. There is never a dull moment in the story and before every hairpin bend in the story there is song or a humor sequence to prevent us from getting emotional bruised.

For those of you missed Surya-Jothika’s wedding or never got invited to the wedding, here is a chance to see more than just a normal wedding on the wide screen.

The first half of the movie reminded me of best sequences from Roja, Alaipayuthey and Mouna ragam. The first 15 minutes reminded me of the movie Roja with Jo being portrayed as girl who doesn’t subscribe to arranged marriage. Jothika pleads the Ganesha on the temple tank, but may be has heard too many women and has turned deaf? Vadivelu’s humor was nothing out of the box, but the timing and punch dialogues made it enjoyable. The wedding song reminded me of the sequence from the movie Alaipayuthey, but the old wine is the new bottle is still tasty. The song Avalukenna Ambasamudiram in Seerkazhi Siva Chidambarm’s voice resonates in my mind. The lyrics are really catchy and very aptly written for the couple - Vaali a job well done. 6 years of wedded life goes by in Bombay without any hiccups in relationship and with odes and loads of love. For those who are not enjoying their married life and kids there are sequences that will make you long for one. Surya as a doted husband and Jothika as an understanding wife always gave each other space to do their things. Typically workday struggles of a DISK couple (double income single kid) is perfectly portrayed on the silver screen. Kids always add flavor to life when it turns insipid. The little girl steals the show and adds pep to the story. Without much effort the first half of the story moves fast in its own momentum.

The real test for the Director and the actors comes in the second half of the movie. Jothika in search of the insect box unravels the story for the second half. Her insect box search turns out to be a deadly can of worms ready to be opened. For spouses it is not a good idea to exchange stories of their life before marriage. Sometimes past haunts, Jothika doesn’t stop with just reading his diary. She goes that extra mile to go and trace Surya’s ex for no reason. Bhoomika makes a fragrance full entry at that point. The very name evokes the same fragrance when the first rain drop rain hits the parched earth. She is an earthly angel.

While the first half of the story shows the love after marriage the second shows love before marriage with a different person. Dichotomy in human life and mind will always stay. Every few minutes brings a different flavor, dimension and a contrasting personality hidden in every character. This half of the story exposes the ruffian Surya filled with rage and romance. Santhanam, Goutham’s friend is a promising North Star to be watched. Soft and fragile Bhoomika comes back as a hard shelled oyster that gave the pearl to Jothika with no repentance. Conservatively dressed Bhoomika comes in tank top and jeans with a let down hair in the latter part. Jothika seems to have completely enacted the role of a woman ready to sacrifice her husband and later changing shades to a possessive wife who wants to fight back for her husband. New York Nagaram song is penned down with lot of emotions and tuned to show the pangs of separation between the husband and wife. The climax is not very new or different but it is done in a very tasteful and matured way and this is where the director really scores.

It has the right mix of what it takes to make a commercial movie.

Positives:
1. Fresh fragrance Bhoomika
2. Jillunu oru Jothika
3. Lyrics soaked with emotions
4. 2 resonating songs
5. Screenplay and dialogues
6. Comedy was fitting to the story
7. Enough scope for acting – Surya, Jothika, Bhoomika
8. 95% of seats filled for a night show after 3 weeks
9. Picturization of songs
10. Camera angles capture the best of people, emotions and places

Negatives:
1. Director could have avoided showing those intimate moments between Surya and Jothika. Now that they are married it feels like peeping into their bed room.
2. Replicating sequences from movies like Roja, Alaipayuthey, Mouna Ragam.

With today’s Tamil movies caught up in women sentiments, violence, and gundas, Sillunnu oru Kadhal belongs to the genre of matured love story. Our expectations just went higher, Krishna we’ve raised the bar now. Definitely a film that parents can watch with kids and teenage children without any embarrassment.