O Kadhal Kanmani

Mani is back with a HIT! The movie is shot is Mumbai and the hero of the movie, Aadhi develops a software game called Mumbai-2.0. Apart from a few visuals that remind of Mani's Bombay movie, this movie is more of a Alaipayuthey-2.0 because you get the feel of a more contemporary version of Alaipayuthey. But, the movie is no where less to the Alaipayuthey classic because this is what you get...

Fantastic Soundtrack by AR (9/10): The "AR-Vairamuthu-Mani" trio's magic is one to cherish forever.

One of The Best Background Music that touches you while watching the movie (10/10).

Awesome performances by Dulquer & Nithya (10/10).

Superb Cinematography (9/10).

The real touch of Mani's movie making and dialogues style which most people love to see (10/10).

I hardly feel the urge to go watch a movie second time. But, OKK tempts me to experience it again in the theater.

Overall, OK...K --> Double OK :)

A well made movie. Much better than some of Mani Ratnam's recent work.

The movie however didn't quite create an impact like Roja, Anjali, Bombay, Iruvar or some of his past movies had for me. That is not to say this isn't a movie worth watching.

The direction, the youthful theme and the cinematography were good. A simple and well told story. All the actors gave a good performance, among which Dulquer Salmaan and Prakash Raj (in the character role)stood out for me. The music was pleasant and well suited to the film, yet only a couple of songs stood out for me.

Romance is Mani Ratnam's strong forte and his touch is evident in the movie. A nice watch.

A Man who is pushing into his sixties announces he is here to say, here to stay!! Thats Mani Ratnam's reply through ‪OKKanmani‬ !! yes he is back indeed with an all-round movie after some years!! Watching his movie after very long time in theater and Very much satisfied.

The cinematography says it all. PC sir underplayed himself to suit the story. The whole Mumbai setup shows what his experience is and it lets you travel beyond boundaries. You don't need mega locations. you need to shoot everything right thats it!

The tile card and interval block is very much unexpected surprise package. BGM ARR = no words. Truly nailed it (but at some portion it reminds me of interstellar).

Dulquer Salmaan is here to stay!! And Nithya Menon - she is modern Revathi as in Mouna Ragam (although Revathi cant be matched!!). Another interesting thing is that almost every Mani movie will have an interesting character. Well, this movie has more than one and that too is done well. very well indeed!!! Leela Samson outplayed Prakashraj. She is the one to look out for in this movie.

No Melodramatic moments, no unwanted tearful moments, no low-class language. Thats Mani Ratnam for you. Enjoy the ride.!

Cast : perfectly casted for all characters starts 4m Bavani aunt to Aadi's sister in law

Plot & direction : A man who desperately needed a hit, came out of his recent genres parallel cinema, hyperlink, Biography, and terrorism etc., and succeeded.

Beg your pardon, kindly direct movies which even "C" centre audience can understand. It would've made difference for Kadal and Raavan at BO Undoubtedly it's a second Alaipaayuthe of this 21st century. The major difference, it revolves around unmarried living together couple and the heroine is wealthier than hero.

The romance of bhavani ganapathy is much deeper and beautiful than Thara Aadi

A new Maniratnam film always gives you goosebumps as it begins, since you expect something extraordinary coming from the maestro yet again as per his reputed career giving many trendsetting films in the past. And when the experienced film-maker is returning with a love story based on new-age relationships mainly catering to the urban regions, the expectations got to increase further to many folds without any doubt.

Thankfully this time Maniratnam delivers the goods if considered in terms of a youthful treatment, realistic dialogues, artistic vision, catchy music and emotions dealt as they tend to be in the modern world. But taking into account the subject and its basic storyline, the film mostly offers predictable content heading towards a usual culmination of a love story, with nothing surprising or innovative tried, probably fearing the risk of rejection.

Talking about two young independent individuals, O KADHAL KANMANI (meaning Oh Darling, my love, apple of my eye) also popularly called as OK Kanmani, is just a perfect film for the multiplexes with a fine mix of romance, comedy, emotions and music leaving a feel good impact on the viewers as desired. However it actually makes that favourable impression because of two major strengths mentioned below, pointing towards the perfect casting done by the maestro.

Firstly it's the immensely likable and infectious performance of its leading lady Nitya Menen, who carries the complete film on her shoulders with an innocent ease and conviction. The girl instantly makes a loving connection with her audiences and keeps them entertained right till the end leading from the front.

Secondly it's the adorable characterisation of the lovable elderly couple played by Prakash Raj and Leela Samson just perfectly. And one can easily learn a valuable lesson of life from the couple, teaching you how to be patient, calm and together in those tough final years dealing with many physical ailments.

In other words you just cannot imagine O KADHAL KANMANI without these three characters providing the much required support to its otherwise 'seen before' subject matter to be honest. Yes, Dulquer no doubt delivers an enjoyable, natural act as the lead hero with an impressive screen presence winning many hearts. But the soul of OKK remains Nitya Menen alone, contributing much more into the film's overall look and feel in comparison to anyone else in the cast.

Moving ahead, OKK's realistically written script full of simple and relatable dialogues along with a well conceived art direction and cinematography plays a major role in maintaining that young feel throughout. Moreover its seriously amazing to realise that a man in his late 50s has made this with an all mature team perfectly portraying the mindsets of the youngsters and their common problems dealing with a new-age lifestyle and love-hate relationships.

Once again getting a big support from the music & background score composed by A. R. Rahman, the film gets lifted just at the right moments with a (long due) fine soundtrack from the genius featuring songs such as Mental Manadhil, Aye Sinamika and Kaara. Plus I really loved and enjoyed the interesting arrangement & treatment of tracks Parandhu Sella Vaa, Malargal Kaettaen, Naane Varugiraen and the calm, soothing feel of Maula Wa Sallim, though a few could have been avoided keeping in mind the dropping pace post intermission. (Note : The views on music here are given keeping the lyrics apart as I couldn't get them completely due to the language limitations)

So if you are looking for a light, refreshing, rom-com that doesn't make you cry and keeps delivering cute sequences with an enjoyable chemistry both between the young and the elderly couple played brilliantly, then OKK should be a perfect choice for you as a youthful entertaining film. But in case you are expecting an intense romantic drama with all those real life conflicts and emotions that once happened to be the forte of our master film-maker, then OKK might turn out to be a film from a different and new Maniratnam willing to explore the youth in a much lighter mood.

Perhaps a changed Maniratnam with the changing times, who is simply more interested in making a light romantic, musical with a comic touch, solely made to give its viewers a good enjoyable time in the theaters. And that's exactly the reason, I personally found the film to be progressing too easily with no tension of any sort, making it shallow at times moving away from the actual life that faces a lot of adversities when it comes to'Live In Relationships', 'Risky Career Choices' and 'Family Conflicts'.

Interestingly same is the case with most of the films today, clearly revealing their reservations in showing the 'Sadness' on screen resulting in a one side depiction of life making it completely off balance. Because, till you are not willing to talk about the two sides of the coin equally, you are not going to find much depth in your presentation be it a film, book, poem or any creative expression, whatsoever.

Summing up, O KADHAL KANMANI is a MANIRATNAM film that has been solely made to be a success story, targeting the young viewers simply willing to enjoy their movie outings together avoiding any kind of serious emotional stuff. It has freshness, it has love, it has music, it has chemistry and it has Nitya Menen too, but the drama we always expect from a MANIRATNAM film has been sadly sacrificed in the name of box office performance.