Ok Kanmani: Ô ma chérie d'amour

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.

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

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 :)

Mani Ratnam is one of the premier film makers in India who tried to change the definition of entertainment in our films.Be it his mass flick Dalapathi,romantic Sakhi or Mounaragam,biopic Iruvur or Nayagan,they have always been engaging and touching despite their performance at box-office.But he seem to lose his touch since a couple of films.Now he has gone back to his forte(actually basics) and has come up with OK Bangaram.Let us see whether Mani succeeded this time and is OK Bangaram is cool enough in this hot summer.

Plot: The plot is not an out of the box idea.It is a simple story of two like minded youngsters who happen to fall in love but do not believe in marriage(for their own reasons).They move together and begin to live in relationship.Where the life takes them forms the crux of the story.......

Performances:Its Nitya Menon's show all the way.She has carried most of the film on her shoulders.Her cute expressions and smile,for sure,will not leave you for sure for a long time. Dulqer is also equally good.He is vibrant in that character.Nani's dubbing best suits him.I am sure that you will like to remember them as Adhi and Tara.Prakash Raj and Leela Samson(renowned classical dancer made her debut with this film) are very good in their well written roles.Other actors are adequate.

Screenplay & Direction: I feel screenplay is the major reason for the failure of Mani's earlier flicks.This time he seem to have taken extra care in this aspect.Though it becomes slow at times,it picks up at the right time and keeps you engaging.Coming to direction...One can simply say our Vintage Mani is back.He got almost every thing right.The scene in which the leads communicate for the first time in church show his thoughts are so fresh as that of a guy in teens. His way of blending the story of Ganapathi and Bhavani's timeless love in the main plot is interesting.How can one comment about the framing of one whose shot selection is so good as Sachin Tendulkar. Brilliant.........

Technical Department:Music by A.R.Rehaman is extraordinary.Though he is not at the best of his form in the recent years,he preserved his best for his guru.All songs are well captured.After a very long time,heard blissful lyrics in a dubbed version of a movie.Thanks to Sirivenella.ARR's BGM is also terrific.He became soul to some of the scenes.D.O.P has done a breath-taking job.No doubt P.C.Sree Ram is called as 'Master'.Whenever P.C.Sree Ram and Mani join hands visuals are taken to next level.Take my bow Sree Ram Sir.Editing by Sreekar Prasad is good in songs and decent in total.VFX during the opening credits needs a special mention.Dialogues are passable.Art work is good.

Final Word:The film also have its share of flaws.The film's block point is very weak and it also looks like the film runs on episodes.The Screenplay is dragging at times but ARR and Nitya make up for that.This is definitely not the best of Mani Ratnam.But this can be called as his come back after a series of duds.Do watch the film in theaters to have a scintillating experience of perfect blend of music,visuals and acting.Definitely,you will come out with smile on your face.This BANGARAM is pure gold.............

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.