Director by K R Vishwa's Tamil film Kaadhalagi is about love triumphing against the greatest odds. Yet, the romance, friendship and mystery fail to draw you in.
Kaadhalagi starts on a promising note -- a group of friends starting a train journey. All of them are city youngsters, clad in tank tops, slinging guitars and ribbing each other.
In their compartment is AK (Prakashraj), a middle-aged man who takes exception to their behaviour. Incensed, the youngsters introduce themselves: Mahesh Muthusamy, Angelina Christie, Reshmi Kaur and Mohammad Aslam, and Thyagu (Krishnakumar) and Nandini (Srushti Dange) -- who are not present on the train, but are there throughout the film.
Each of them has a unique dream. Mahesh wants to be an actor; Reshmi can dance everything from the salsa to kuthu; Aslam's passion lies behind the camera and Nandini's in direction. To prove that they can be modern as well as sensitive, the gang narrates Nandini and Thyagu's love story, against the backdrop of another important character: Raja Rajasekaran (Vijay Gopal), a royal descendent who dreams of regaining the "throne" of Tamil Nadu.
But just as they start their narrative, you experience a distinct sense of deja vu. The eager friends, the disbelieving outsider, a love story that beats all odds -- Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Except that in JTYJN, the characters were fresh, alive and gave you a genuine sense of peeking into the lives of two people. This movie takes itself too seriously.
The erstwhile Raja is a firm believer in the caste system; a courageous characterization, despite the horrible acting. Nandini, his niece, through a terrifying meeting involving gangs chasing them through alleys, falls in love with Thyagu, who is from another caste. The two escape on a boat and reach a beautiful island, a la Blue Lagoon, and find happiness till Nandini is 'rescued'. They meet again, five years later, when Thyagu has become a great magician: He can walk on water, turn huge cars into little ones and coke into coffee. He seems to be wasting his gift until he meets the four friends and gets a primetime slot on TV. Then he meets Nandini again and gets another shot at love.
But the Raja will not let Nandini and Thyagu live. From here, the story takes an abrupt turn. Gone is the JTYJN-inspired sweetness and in comes a version of Rang De Basanti. The friends take on the establishment with candle-light vigils and decide to deal with the king through a television reality show that exposes crimes, and instantly solves problems, of course. It ends in a ridiculous climax and destroys whatever credibility they had managed to establish.
Barring Prakashraj and Mahesh (he performs delightfully), the rest of the cast leave a lot to be desired. Their newness is obvious. Vijay Gopal's performance is wooden.
A R Rayhana's music is barely adequate, as is Ravishankar's camera work.
But it's the script that plays spoilsport. You end up with a caricature of a movie instead of the promised, impressive fare.
Rediff Rating: 
