Idhu Enna Maayam Review: Unmagical

In the two-odd hours of Idhu Enna Mayam, it’s hard to believe that the young Vikram Prabhu’s debut film was that engaging little tale in the wilderness. Here, there’s no trace of the wild-streaked Bomman, or Arima Nambi’s spunky Arjun Krishna. Just plain old Arun (Prabhu), who tells his parents that he’s doing something serious for a living, when in reality, he runs a company (Unnal Mudiyum Thambi!) that orchestrates romance – a grand matchmaking project. He builds sets, he hires actors, and he choreographs perfect cinematic moments in real life. But he barely cracks a smile. After all, this ain’t Prabhu Solomon we’re dealing with. This is AL Vijay. Romance, in his world, is all about delicate porcelain figurines with curvy lettering to match. There has to be something sentimental behind every action. If Arun is in pain because of a physical injury, his mother has certainly ascended to even greater mental agony. And then, there’s the dysfunctional (or not) family as the tell-all backdrop.

It’s pretty clear how this film is going to end.

*****

Arun falls in love with Maya (Keerthy Suresh) in college. Maya – eerily modelled on Shreya Ghoshal – has quite the voice. But thanks to a series of errors and misunderstanding – of the AL Vijay kind – the couple end the relationship, and move on.

But what happens (a few years later) when Arun finds out that he is about to set his client up with Maya?

*****

Even more importantly, what happens when, during a college cricket tournament, a fierce bouncer hits Arun on his head?

He wipes the blood off the cut, casts away his helmet, walks to the pitch –

…and hits the next ball for a six.

*****

Yes, there certainly is a heartwarming twist.

*****

The Idhu Enna Maayam Review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.