Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/article/kalavaadiya-pozhuthugal-movie-review
When long-separated former lover Ingrid Bergman walks into Humphrey Bogart’s nightclub in Casablanca, he marvels, wryly, at the coincidence: “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” A similar twist of fate awaits Porchezhiyan (Prabhu Deva) in Thangar Bachan’s Kalavaadiya Pozhuthugal (Stolen Moments). The tourist-taxi driver is heading home after dropping a customer off, and he slows down at the scene of an accident. The unconscious man is an industrialist named Soundararajan (Prakash Raj), and after admitting him in a hospital, Porchezhiyan discovers something else: the man is married to his long-separated former lover, Jayanthi (Bhumika Chawla). Of all the accident spots in all the roads in all of India…
A rush of memories ensues, and the film makes the first of its many missteps. The first scene we get from the rose-tinted past is a painful duet, the kind where the hero finds himself on a hilltop, arms outstretched, seemingly singing his song to the skies. Why so generic a romance in such an unusual relationship drama? All we get is that Jayanthi is super-rich, Porchezhiyan is dirt-poor. Without specific moments to hold on to, moments that tell us what these two mean to each other, how are we to feel their loss in the present? (Especially with this cast!) The past is superficial, unconvincing. The present is more of the same. The film is dedicated to “all hearts burdened by unrequited love.” Also, apparently, all characters burdened by an uninvolving screenplay.
Continued at the link above.
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Rakesh
December 30, 2017
In hindsight, considering that kadhal2kalyanam was also meant as a 2010 release (maybe it did in an alternate dimension), how do you think it would fare in 2018?
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brangan
December 30, 2017
That’s tough for me to say as I am so close to it — plus, have not seen it in years. But I do think it’s current enough in many ways (especially wrt the heroine). Plus, the technique and craft is very strong — the staging is solid.
What might be a problem today is that what we thought was “never before done” then might have found its way into a few films over the years. So there may be an “I have seen this bit earlier” feel.
You’ve made me want to watch it again 😀
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Vivek narain
December 30, 2017
Ah! how i long for my Dulcinea.The mountains i climbed,the stars i tore from the sky,the eyes that i kept peeled for a brief glimpse. The cupid’s arrow, the unrequited love,of what use this knight-errantry. Vanity thy name is desire, not Desiree.
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