Shakthi and Shruthi are in their final year of college and on the verge of making career defining decisions. Shruthi wants to start her own business in wedding planning and runs into Shakthi who falls for her. He has not decided on his future, but doesn’t want to go back to his village and assist his father in farming. In a bid to nourish his career and romance, he befriends Shruthi and offers to partner in her business venture. They make it big as wedding planners, but unforeseen circumstances make them part ways. The bitter consequences and the suspense on whether they re-unite, forms the rest of the story.
Language:
Tamil
Running Time:
142 min
Rating:
U/A
Release date:
21 February 2014
Directed by:
A. Gokul Krishna
Produced by:
Aditya Chopra
Written by:
Habib Faizal
Rajiv Rajaram
Starring:
Nani
Vaani Kapoor
Badava Gopi
M. J. Sriram
Simran
Music by:
Dharan Kumar
Shot by:
Loganathan Srinivasan
Editing by:
Bavan Sreekumar
Distributed by:
Yash Raj Films

What’s Hot

  • Vani Kapoor as Shruthi, makes a dream debut in Tamil with an impressive role which is an integral part the story, a rarity in Indian cinema for heroines. Her chirpiness and excellent skills in dancing and acting create a picture perfect portrayal of a lead lady.
  • Nani is as good as ever, oozing with confidence and energy to make a perfect cocktail when paired with Vani. His emotions are very natural and convincing. His funny antics are crowd pleasing and with the versatile Badava Gopi for company, he cooks up a decent show.
  • The marriage theme setups a solid premise for some vivid colours that are showcased with stunning detail by Loganathan, the lens man with great support from the costume designer to up the style and glamour of the lead pair.
  • The grand decorations and designs created for each of the marriages in the movie are classy and evoke awe, thanks to the art director. The final touch with the grandest wedding at a sprawling palace just wows the audience with sheer splendour.

What’s Not

  • Though it is a faithful remake of the Hindi blockbuster Band Baaja Baaraat, the casting and the roll of events described are not improvised enough to create a South Indian connect. This disconnect is widened further by a domination of a north Indian flavour in the weddings on display.
  • The music by Dharan is pretty ordinary and does not help the movie create a bond with the Tamil audience as one can see an overdose of Bollywood style music .The “punch dialogue” song in particular is more like a parody of south Indian cinema dialogues bundled in one, instilling more of ridicule than pride.
  • At a time when stars are ever more cautious about resorting to alcohol and smoking on screen, the lead pair are seen indulging in drinking and pre-marital sex which contradicts the core of the movie and bound to create ripples in conservative southern regions.
  • The manner in which the lead pair emerges as successful wedding planners is a wee bit hurried and exaggerated. The special appearance by Simran as a leading wedding planner and her fallout with Vani and Nani is a dampener as it does not contribute much to the plot.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

A visually pleasing, technically brilliant remake that is elevated several notches by stellar performances, but let down by insensitiveness to the expectations of a different audience in comparison to the original.