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The
much awaited Kadir film is finally here, after teasing expectant viewers
with an already popular soundtrack.
The
plot is simple. Raja (Kunal) is a poor boy who arrives in Bombay against
all odds in pursuit of an MBA admission in Ramachandra Institute. The
founder of the institution – Mr.Ramachandra (Nasser), himself a
rags-to-riches story – admits Raja into the business school out of
sheer compassion. In school, Raja discovers the world of internet and
with the encouragement of his friend (Chinni Jayant) starts chatting on
the net. Along the way he discovers Roja (Sonali Bendre) on the net and
then the predictable happens – love blossoms, but strangely is never
expressed by one to the other verbally. Strangely enough it is
Ramachandra who encourages Raja to pursue his love without the knowledge
that it is his daughter that Raja is in love with.
Owing
to circumstances, Raja and Roja fail in their attempts to express their
love to each other. Ramachandra arranges his daughter’s marriage
elsewhere and asks Raja to help in the wedding arrangements. Raja
decides to sacrifice his love in return for Ramachandra’s kindness
towards him. However, Ramachandra learns the truth just before Roja’s
wedding and urges Raja to unite with his daughter. By then it seems it
is too late as Roja consumes poison and the marriage is stopped. The
film ends with Roja fighting for her life in hospital. Viewers leave
wondering if the lovers will unite after all.
Sonali
Bendre impresses with her convincing performance and excellent looks.
Kunal seems ill at ease in several scenes. The acting abilities of
Nasser are never called upon. Goundamani and Chinni Jayant fail in their
attempts to provide comic relief. Zakir Hussain and Sivamani - two of
the country’s greatest percussionists - have brief appearances.
The
movie is slickly mounted and the talent of the technicians shows
through. Art direction by Thotta Tharani is first rate as is the sheer
poetry of P.C.Sriram’s camera. The life and spirit of Bombay and
Cybercafes are captured beautifully by the duo. There is a clear modern
feel and look about the movie.
The
biggest plus of course is A.R.Rahman’s score, which gets magnified
manifold thanks to the excellent picturisation of the songs. Enna
Vilai and Kadhalenum stand
out. The sheer beauty of New Zealand’s snow capped peaks, the urban
heartbeat of Sydney and other Aussie locations are fantastic in the two
songs. The special effects in Roja
Roja seem marginally overdone. Oh
Maria, Dandiya and Nenachapadi are also well picturised. Hariharan
sings a portion of Roja, Roja excellently in the climax - but this is not included in the soundtrack released.
Kunal’s
grooming is totally incongruous to the poor background he is shown to
have. Numerous scenes in the Bandra railway station are monotonous.
Kunal is unconvincing in emotional scenes. The storyline could have been
stronger. A number of scenes remind the viewers of Kadir’s earlier
campus caper – Kadhal Desam.
The
makers of the movie have cleverly given a north/south feel to movie and
the soundtrack, so expect a dubbed release in Hindi soon. Kadhalar Dinam
will have to count on ARR’s score, Sonali Bendre and its technicians
for commercial success.
r
ananthanarayanan
kadalar
dhinam main
| makers
of the movie
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