Cert 12A
135 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence
In my opinion, the element which sets Tamil and Malayalam films apart from mainstream Bollywood is that they tend to roam into the real India.
By that I mean that there are fewer scenes of obscene wealth, big houses, fancy cars and very beautiful people.
Movies such as Nalan Kumarasamy's Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum are about flawed folk who are struggling to make ends meet.
Often this makes their stories more interesting - as is the case with Vijay Sethupathi's character Kathir, a miserable drunkard who, having been released from jail, can only down jobs as an enforcer for bosses of dubious repute.
His new neighbour is an upstanding young woman, Yazhini (Madonna Sebastian), who has left her traditional rural home to come to the big city to work for an IT company.
However, within a short time the firm goes bust and she is left scratching around to be able to afford to stay, not wishing to lose face with her family.
The two cross paths occasionally, having very different but difficult lives with Kathir inept in his 'bouncer' role and Yazhini struggling to find a new job.
After a hostile opening, there is a twinkling of romance between the two but I was rather pleased that this did not turn into the cliched naive girl and bit of rough storyline which as become so familiar in Indian movies..
Instead, there remains enough distance for the relationship to be real.
Both Sethupathi and Sebastian are engaging and convincing in the lead roles but the only reason that I have not marked the film higher is that, while it is enjoyable, it doesn't have a great deal of substance until its very end.
And, as is common with many Indian films, it is just too long.
Reasons to watch: a romance for the working classes
Reasons to avoid: the chemistry takes so long to build up
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6/10
Star tweet
Madonna Sebastian My first tamil film #KadhalumKadandhuPogum !! Thank you for all the love and support
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