I watched C/o Kaadhal in orig. Tamil audio w.Eng.subs. on Netflix. It is a faithful Tamilised remake of the wonderful Telugu film C/o Kancharapalem. In fact the Tamil title ought to have been C/o Meenakshipuram instead of Kaadhal (love) given the end scene where the entire village of M'puram come to the protagonist Palani's support, as in Kancharapalem.
Anyway, C/o Kaadhal is a lovely simple film, narrated throughout in seemingly unrelated flashbacks and present moments. Having seen Kancharapalem I already knew the connections, which are revealed as a pleasant twist only at the end in both films. No spoilers from me as those who have not seen Kancharapalem will enjoy Kaadhal in their own way.
Everything is ultra and mundanely realistic. The characters could be anyone you pass by in an unsophisticated setting. The acting by all is superb, the sets more than real ... did they take over a village in rural Madurai for the shoot? The direction and cinematography are superb. Bittersweet moments of lost love, acute tragedy in the death of the little boy's impoverished sculptor father, as with Salima, happier moments in between are all beautifully portrayed and so believably real.
Summary: C/o Kaadhal is a wonderfully narrated, realistic film with a feel good ending. Well worth watching and a most welcome change from the usual film fare of violence, silly romance, slapstick and horror .
