Many lessons to be learnt from feel-good love story
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Director Seemaan attempts something quite different in R Madhavan’s latest film, Vaazhthugall, whose script and song lyrics contain only Tamil words — Runaway Love a rare and difficult achievement in today’s world.
Apart from that, Seemaan has striven to promote traditional values and morals.
It is a feel-good love story that tells of unadulterated love. But it also makes some bold observations on current society, some of which could touch raw nerves.
Kadhiravan (Madhavan) is a successful businessman who lives with his loving and supportive parents. He is wary of marriage because he has seen how a wrong choice of bride ruined a friend’s life. Rather than risk heartache Runaway Love, he believes that it is better to remain single.
While channel surfing on TV, he comes across an interview with a young woman, Kayalvizhi (Bhavana), whose unusual views have made her something of an icon. Her unorthodox views of marriage and post-marital relationships grab Kadhir’s attention.
Kayal attributes her outlook on life to growing up in a harmonious extended family system in which love and mutual respect have been the main ingredients.
It is an idyllic situation in which each person is well aware of his or her duties and responsibilities, and the love extends even to their pets.
Kadhir views Kayal as an ideal marriage partner and devises a novel way of declaring his love for her. He enters her home in the guise of an interior decorator, and during the renovation process he falls in love with her family. He also wins Kayal’s heart.
However, Kayal’s family is very much against marriages based on love because of a recent nasty experience and refuse to accept Kadhir and the love the young couple share. No amount of pleading or coaxing can change their minds.
How the lovers cope with this challenge forms the rest of the story.
The film’s biggest flaws concern the pace and structure of the first half Love Letter. The development of the love between Kadhir and Kayal occurs at a painstakingly slow pace.
In the second half, Seemaan’s script lapses into mushy, sentimental drivel before recovering in the riveting and moving climactic scenes.
Madhavan handles his role well with credible characterisation and conviction in the emotional scenes. He is particularly impressive in the second half.
Bhavana is perfectly cast. She oozes sweet innocence, which complements her natural beauty — a stark contrast to the heavily made-up, overdressed, model-type phoneys one finds in many other films. It is the kind of role in which she excels, and she scores full marks for her portrayal.
Veteran stage actor N Muthusamy makes his big-screen debut as Kayal’s orthodox grandfather and delivers a stunning performance Love Letter.
Also making his acting debut is art director Trotsky Marudhu, who is impressive as Kadhir’s good-humoured father.
Venkat Prabhu makes an indelible mark as Kadhir’s best friend.
Yuvanshanker Raja’s soundtrack is free of techno-oriented music. Instead, there is a welcome return to melody in all the songs. of which Chinna Chinna Azhagu Nilaa is the best.
The movie marks the return to film production of T Siva’s Amma Creations, which was prolific in the mid-1990s.
Despite its slow pace and lapses in the script Love Spells, Vaazhthugall is compulsory viewing for its important messages about love, marriage and social responsibility. It contains many lessons that are pertinent to South African viewers.
