Vaanam Kottattum

Good things: Sarath Kumar & Raadhika's emotional/sentimental scenes The youths/friends street roaming scenes with a neat & quick triangular love story Brother - Sister chasing - fighting - business dealing scenes A bit dynamic scenes overall and had a flavor of watching Mani Rathnam's film All the characters' performances were good

Bad things: No good/core plot No good screenplay Although the music was good, Sid Sriram roaring the background throughout the film seemed a bit irritating Except for the villain, nobody else seemed to have a strong motivation

Overall, it could've been made in a much better way with just a few tweaks like adding some twists & turns and fastening up the screenplay based upon a core/good plot.

Vaanam Kottattum boasts a first half that gives you hopes of an explosive second, even when the proceedings appear to be completely predictable. The ensemble cast comes up with fine performances here, often rising above what that script offers them. It's a family of five (well, six if you include the wise-cracking yet warm granny) that Dhana (an artist from the Mani Ratnam school of film-making) introduces us to - it's convenient to say that Bose (Sarath Kumar) is the central character of the film, yet he doesn't get the most screentime. His wife Chandra (Raadhika), brother Velsaamy (Balaji Sakthivel) their son Selva (Vikram Prabhu) and daughter Mangal (Aishwarya Rajesh) do. And that's because Bose is away in jail serving a murder sentence, while the rest of the family are trying to keep up with life's other challenges.

We get to see Sarath Kumar in a finely written role after a very long time. Vikram Prabhu proves that he can be less wooden and more expressive. What's most important here is how the two ladies of the film - Raadhika and Aishwarya Rajesh - both of whom deserve more credit, receive meaty, well-rounded character arcs. Every member of the family, including the uncle, is subjected to a Mani Ratnam-styled conditioning (he's credited as co-writer).

On the other hand, everyone beyond the family feels one-note, underwritten, or lacking closure. Look at the major antagonist (played by Nandha), for example. He is so drowned in his motive of revenge that his reason for existence in the movie is merely that. The build-up around his character felt weak. The same goes for Preetha (played with restraint by Madonna Sebastian), someone who realizes that the riches-to-rags can happen faster than losing friends or dependable folks in her 'rich people' circle. This isn't a movie for the traditional heroine (a.k.a the lover of the young hero) - that spot's already taken up by the mother and the sister of the family.

Even Mangai's friendly-love-triangle doesn't pan out well. Shanthanu and Amitash play the 'Kadhal Desham' dudes here and the whole saga around the trio doesn't look convincing one bit, including the closure. Even with all these issues, if Vaanam Kottatum still proves to be worth a watch, the performances of the leading quartet is the biggest and most valid reason. Some of Sid Sriram's compositions (especially Kannu Thangom) really add to the scenes, while some (Easy Come Easy Go) feel out of place. Preetha Jayaraman's cinematography makes the best use of rain in many scenes - something that's reflected in the film's title too.

Boasting a star-studded cast that includes real-life couple, Sarathkumar and Radhika, the movie feels more like a TV drama than a feature film. The movie does feature touches of Mani Ratnam-ness (the movie is produced by Mani Ratnam and directed by his assistant, Dhana) in it's minimalistic approach towards dialogues and a simple plotline.

I am of the opinion that the movie's core discusses areas such as the importance of good upbringing, parental guidance and acceptance. Or maybe, I'd assume this is what the director was going for. Sadly, these core themes never get translated to the screenplay and it leaves much to be desired.

The biggest drawback of the film also comes in the fact that the director has chosen to over-complicate a simple narrative. Too many sub-plots featuring the other characters makes the film messy and none of the lead characters have an interesting arc for the audience to feel invested upon.

Technically a strong film, the music department also features debut music director and famous singer, Sid Sriram, scoring the songs and BGM of the film. Take nothing away from this guy's amazing singing capabilities, but the background score of the film was often too loud and could have been more mellow to allow some breathing space for the onscreen happenings.

All in, Vaanam Kottattum is not entirely a bad movie at all; it's an average, uninspiring film with sprinkles of family values and drama woven along the way. Watchable on a lazy Sunday afternoon at home after a heavy lunch.

A normal story, but the screenplay was a bit slow. But the Background score was good. Sid sriram did a good job

Nice entertainer with colours of emotions. Particularly with the elderly couples. Story seems to be usual one but lot efforts are behind to make the screenplay entertaining. Cast n crew fits their roles perfectly and did justice to their respective roles. Music is nice except too much vocals even in place which needs silence. Aishwarya Rajesh, though delivered a very good acting but a usual Mani Ratnam heroine role (bold and crazy girl, repeated in most of the movies)