First the disclaimers (1) I have this general weakness for romantic films and such films get an additional one rating (2) I used to be a big fan of Manirathnam and watched Idhayathai Thirudathey more than 10 times at an age when I cannot count beyond 10 (3) I hated Mani’s last few movies so much that after Kadal, I wanted him to retire gracefully. Now the review. I am glad that Mani didn’t give up and has come back with a winner. The story is not new. We have seen this many times in different Tamil and English movies. The only difference is the addition of a living together concept. Boy meets girl and they fall in love. Both are career focused and decide to live together (friends with benefits) until they split. They decide not to get married. What happens in the end is narrated in Manirathnam style. The biggest plus point is the romance that flows non stop from start to end. It has been quite some time since we watched such a youthful film. The first half is a breeze and we fall in love with Mani all over again. Nithya Menon is brilliant and Dulquer plays his role to perfection. The dialogues are great. It is the second half that drags at times and the film ends in a predictable manner. PC Sreeram’s cinematography is out of the world. ARR’s songs are very good but some of them have not been picturized well including “Mental Manathil”. Enjoyed watching such a refreshing love story but was disappointed with the compromised ending. Maybe because the Director needed this hit badly. I only wonder where is he going to go next and how he is going to keep proving himself. I am sure he will. Watch and enjoy. Read my first disclaimer again.
