Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu eppadi, if you don't know by now, is a 9 min short film with the same name which received positive reviews and has been expanded into a 2 hour movie. The short film is on youtube and can be viewed here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRSi-j7z8Wk
The storyline is nothing new. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. They are so different in the way they think that they can never be made for each other. Good relationships happen only when both partners understand this and make compromises. One must give credit to Balaji however for the fresh script and a different way of narration. While it might be easier to come up with a short film and make an impact, I think it is very difficult to blow it into a 2 hour movie without blowing up. I also liked the way the heroine's parents failing marriage and its resurrection was weaved into the story.
Sidharth might have crossed 30 but doesn't really look a misfit as a college student. His antics really suit the college boy Arun who constantly messes up in love and keeps lamenting to the audience. Amala Paul as Paaru is cute and impresses as a college girl who is unsettled by her Parents failing marriage and struggles to understand her love interest Arun and ends up pouring all her emotional tantrums on him. All other characters including the friends and the hero and heroine's parents have done a good job. The music by Taman is really good and there are 2 songs which appeal - Paarvathi Paarvathi and Azhaippaya.
Anyone who has fallen in love or is married can appreciate the view points presented in the movie. Humour in the movie is not artificial and is woven into the storyline. The hero's friends are all new faces, thank god there are no old comedians coming as college students! There are some really interesting anecdotes shared in the movie like comparing girls to a monalisa picture in the museum and saying from whatever direction you look it looks like the picture / girl is looking at you. Showing a waterfall every time a girl is about to cry was cute.
The movie does have some minor downsides. The film I thought goes into a tad too many examples of friends messing up which I think could have been avoided. Asking several people for opinion and hero frequently talking to audience might be good in a short film but too many such instances in a movie make it sound like a documentary on love at times. In the second half , the hero goes on a trip to Pondicherry with his friends which I feel been could have been made a bit more crisp.
The movie does not have a different story as such but it is a fresh presentation from a team of youngsters and is worth a watch.
