It’s hard to classify this severely underwhelming film because the director himself isn’t sure what he’s making.
Spoilers ahead…
You can read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/comali-movie-review-jayam-ravi-kajal-aggarwal-baradwaj-rangan/
Dhanush is an actor who can carry off a very young look. He can convince us he’s a college student, maybe even a schoolboy. Jayam Ravi is another. Comali is set in the 1980s/90s, when people used to gather at the one home in the neighbourhood that had a TV set, and your neighbour’s phone functioned as yours because… well, you didn’t have one. With some weight loss, Jayam Ravi (named Ravi in the film) looks like he really belongs in that era. He looks like he has stepped out of his school photographs. No suspension of disbelief is needed. Yogi Babu plays Mani, Ravi’s classmate. It’s tougher to buy him as a school-goer. Perhaps this is a throwback to a time colleges in Tamil cinema were filled with Charlies and Chinni Jayanths. Or perhaps this just means you can’t make a movie, today, without Yogi Babu.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
mrinalnarayan
August 15, 2019
Was looking for Comali reviews in Letterboxd and stumbled on this.
@brangan Some Verithanamana fan made work this is, I guess? -> https://letterboxd.com/Baradwaj_Rangan/
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Sri Prabhuram
August 15, 2019
Looks like it’s yet terrible film with a great concept, but poor execution and stars Jayam Ravi.
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Sri Prabhuram
August 15, 2019
Really curious to see your reviews of Mission Mangal and Ranarangam
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Rahini David
August 16, 2019
So,
Rip Van Winkle, you say?
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brangan
August 16, 2019
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The Crustacean
August 26, 2019
You see Kajal Agarwal and think..
Eh, she is from way back…survivor of the Facebook apocalypse.
And she is, kind of well preserved, unlike other outings, back to being a delight to the eye.
Samyukta Hegde, one of those girls who comes with a bit of built-in chili pales along side.
A drama, with not that bad a concept, gets entangled in the newer ways of telling story, and comes out surprisingly unhurt.
Things go for a toss, in essentially disparate directions, and then they come back, to what viewers seemed to consider a satisfactory climax.
That is…if you can forget that the director forgot that Tamil audience have grown out of their childhood and do not need to be spoon fed as in the days of MGR yore, and forget that the audience also have forgotten it, then this outing can be generally fun.
The jokes were so bad that the audience actually laughed.
The situations aren’t bad as long as you do not seek real making
This is charade, made, as charade, with a few message chops thrown in.
The good thing is that the film maker does not seem to have taken himself or his script seriously, and so will the audience.
I can understand Rangan’s politically correct angst, but then this movie made no promises that it tried to keep. The jokes are actually from 16 years back, so what is the issue?
And when was being politically correct politically correct?
I thought that the general audience got it right…
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bart
October 11, 2019
Enna koduma sir, idhu?
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brangan
October 12, 2019
bart: Are you saying you liked it?
Is the “kodumai” the film or my review? 😁
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bart
October 12, 2019
Sir, Your review can never be a kodumai – always enjoyable to read. It can have some பொருட்குற்றம் but hardly சொற்குற்றம்.
Since this film is available on web platforms, I thought I will give it a try inspite of your review. Especially since this movie has been a hit of the year with 50 days run etc. Everything in the movie is half-baked. They didn’t take anything – the good plot, the characters, even a scene that starts interestingly – beyond the half-way mark. Only bandages are some catchy songs and few one-liners. What a waste of time! It was like taking a few regular Whatsapp messages and making a movie mess out of it..
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praneshp
October 13, 2019
@bart: hmm, so you discarded all rational evidence, watched the movie, and thought it wouldn’t be a waste of time without any basis in reality………
That’s exactly what my wife and I are doing right now.
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e221
October 13, 2019
What pains me is this. This is one of the top 5 blockbusters of the year. I dont know what to say seriously. There is not even an IOTA of respect for human intelligence here. I m out of words here..May be i am not intelligent enough to understand a movie like this. If logic, realism, story, common sense etc are all sacrificed in name of entertainment and profit, then what to say.? Worst part people love it..!
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e221
October 13, 2019
@BR real kodumai is jayam ravi is advising talking and preaching so many things. but director/actor avalo yokiyama irundha would not have kept that madipu amsa scene that too with accurate details. That bajji scene is world first. What a way to look at a woman? I mean if thats comedy then for Gods sake pls dont bring it in a U movie. For a minute, it sounded like whether one is watching parangimalai jothi theater movie. and what a message to the kids watching. For these people every emotion and scene is a crash grabbing and selling technique. This is not cinema. idk how to call this.
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praneshp
October 14, 2019
@bart/e221: I watched this last evening, to be quite honest I think it belongs to the top 5 timepass movies of the year (while not quite top 5 well made ones). It’s not like this has been a year of riches for tamil cinema….
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bart
October 14, 2019
To be honest, I watched “Magamuni” after this and felt even that was an incomplete film. But I didn’t kick myself for the time spent. Coma irritated me with its “advice”s though the other one gave bucket loads of “advice”s too without making me uncomfortable.. I understand both are different genres etc., but I expect some honesty to the script and characters.”Petta” and “Viswasam” (especially), showed how to do this earlier this year. For eg: – LKG, Suttu Pidikka Utharavu and Jiivi were some of the timepass movies this year. This year hasn’t been too bad to be honest. There are more than 15 one-time watch movies that can be counted sofar..
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Madan
October 14, 2019
Another Tamil film, another Jayam Ravi film in fact, with a good concept but terrible execution. When he lifted Dharmaraj odayya pondatti to carry her in the rain, I said I don’t need to watch the end, enough of this. Don’t know why tautness has become such an anathema for Tamil filmmakers. Tatvam solli solli kolaraanga pa.
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