A short film maker turning into a feature film director is common, but a short film being made as a full-length feature film is first of its kind. Balaji Mohan, renowned for his short film with the same name Kaathalil Sothappuvathu Eppadi which went viral on YouTube a couple of years back, has tried to make it a full length movie. Transforming a 10 minute long script into a 120 minute long movie is not an easy job and Balaji Mohan should be commended for the mere attempt of this herculean task.
The best thing about the film is that one can’t find a single scene as clichéd. The basic theme is about a couple falling in love, but showing what really happens when a couple falls in love is what differentiates this one from typical love stories. Balaji Mohan has penned the script and screenplay so carefully that he balances the the reality of living together perfectly. There’s a valid reason behind every fight between the couple, and as Siddharth says in the movie, no one can be blamed for the same.
Another major plus of the film is the narrative-type screenplay. It is very rare in Tamil cinema for a movie to have this kind of a screenplay. But being his debut film, Balaji Mohan has taken a brave effort and it has worked really well. He proves his mettle by using the thinking-in-the-mind kind of narration for sad and love scenes. For other scenes, he uses on-screen narration where the hero turns to the camera and says what he thinks in his mind (which is normally used in short films). Maintaining the reality feel for showing the actual story and having the cinematic touch for conveying it on screen, chronologically disarranged screenplay, not having any dream sequence songs, showing what actually is the root cause for a fight between a couple in this generation (Facebook friends list, phone contact list etc.), are some of those little things that separate the movie from the pack.
The whole movie consists of three love stories – one between a couple of this generation which starts from infatuation –> friendship –> crush –> love; one about an engaged couple where the problem starts when the bride’s ex appears who, unfortunately, is bridegroom’s friend; one about a previous generation couple who find it difficult to continue their relationship. The director should be appreciated for showing that love has no age limit. Not only just telling about a fact about men/women, but also showing it on screen like the scenes where the hero tells that girls are like paintings, about not telling a lie to his girlfriend, what boys and girls think in their mind while sitting idle, etc, are praiseworthy. Dialogues also are a huge backbone. One couldn’t agree more with each and every fact that is told in this film about boys and girls in general. The director has not only showed how to fail in love, but also how to overcome those failures and succeed in it.
After a long time, Siddarth has accepted a role that suits him perfectly. Every expression of his is picture perfect and shows exactly what the scene is trying to accomplish. Amala Paul, in her first girl-next-door character, provides the perfect cuteness-factor without any glamour quotient. All other supporting roles such as the hero’s friends, parents, etc. make a mark when they appear on screen. Balaji Mohan’s small cameo in a couple of scenes makes the audience burst out in laughter. Those scenes where the hero’s parents fight and then sit together having a nice happy chat, how parents today are finding it difficult to have an open-heart discussion with their sons, etc, make a strong mark in many hearts.
In the technical side, Nirav Shah pleases the audience with his stunning camera angles. Editing plays a major role for movies of narrative-type screenplay and Suresh has done an excellent job in helping keep the audience in the edge of the seats. Thaman shines mainly in the BGM parts. The songs are more enjoyable with the attractive visuals – Parvathy and Azhaipaya are worth a mention.
The only let-down that the commercial-film lovers would find: the lousy divorce scenes in the second half. This is just because the whole film is about love and those scenes distract the viewers from the actual story. Some of the costumes seem like they were re-used again and again. That could have been avoided.
Leaving aside the minor goof-ups which almost go unnoticed while enjoying the film, KSE is a trend-setter for all the rom-coms of the future. Not only for lovers, KSE has something that people of all age groups can relate themselves to. With this laudable debut, Balaji Moham has raised the eye-brows of many people in Kollywood and has definitely left a mark in the viewers’ hearts.
Kaadhalil Sothapuvathu Eppadi – Worth every penny!
[rating:1]
P.S.: Thanks Shrihari for the title inspiration!
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