Snehavin Kadhalargal Review

Snehavin Kadhalarkal is an exercise in novelty. Mostly because Muthuramalingam’s Sneha is a woman we all know. And perhaps can even identify with. She boldly eschews tradition, sometimes just to prove that she can. She doesn’t indulge in annoying baby talk, and also doesn’t see the need to launch into a sad song when a guy walks out on her. She’s quite likeable that way.

But the men in her life, oh well, the less said about them, the better. One’s a ‘sentimental loosu’ (as she calls him) and is intent on doing ‘everything’ that he thinks a couple should do. He wants to have that typical college romance. He wants to share a cold drink with her (all the while staring soulfully into her eyes). And, he also wants to take her to the theatre, where he can have his way with her. When she refuses, he asks, “room podatta?”

That, quite obviously, spells the end of the relationship.

The two other men, who later come into her life, albeit for a very short span of time, are slightly better, but equally crass and wimpy. Rathnakumar is an assistant director who constantly spouts arcane wisdom, while Uday roams around with the adivasis in Kodaikanal, guitar in hand: irresistibly reminding us of a hippie of sorts (with a dark past).

The plot of Snehavin Kadhalarkal follows the relationship that Sneha shares with these men.

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As the movie rolls by, we begin to learn (and appreciate) that Sneha is the dominant partner in every relationship (in a good way) and even supports Guy #2 financially. “Ungaloda kai selavu, KFC McDonald’s bill adhukku aprom recharge…idhellam naan paathukaren. Ungalukku muzhu udhavi tharen,” she tells him. And it’s fun to see heroines like her onscreen, after eons of listening to Santhanam, Soori and their ilk, and their sexist ‘jokes’.

The film also has some beautifully written dialogues, laced with several Jayakanthan and Balakumaran references, that we actually start liking (to an extent) the characters that say them. What spoils it all though is the cinematography. Scenic locations like Kodaikanal and Coimbatore look so lacklustre onscreen, and when the characters talk about the beauty of the place they’re standing in, we hear them alright, but we just don’t see it.
Nevertheless, it is quite hard to ignore that this is Krithi Shetty’s film. She is exceedingly pretty onscreen and backs it up with a great performance as the bold Sneha. She doesn’t fall in love, she chooses to love; and it’s precisely this sensibility that tilts the scales in the movie’s favour.
Snehavin Kadhalarkal has the look of a low budget movie, but it’s very, very satisfying.

And sometimes, that is more than enough.

The Snehavin Kadhalargal 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.