Sillunu Oru Kadhal - A Movie Review

My script writing workshop taught me how one needs to analyse characters of a movie before starting a script. We are asked to write a detailed history of characters so that it will help us know how they would react in different situations encountered during the story. Since then, I have analysed the characters in the movies very closely and tried to understand the script writer’s thoughts.

Sillunu Oru kadhal (A Cool Lover story) is one of my favorite movies mainly because of the characterisation. The three central characters in the movie are one of the most beautifully etched characters I have come across.

Kundavi (Jyothika) – This is the first character the audience are introduced to in the movie. She is presented as a jovial girl who desires to marry someone she loves. But faith has something else destined for her and she is married to a man she barely knows. One sees Kundavi grow through the movie - from a young playful girl to a matured woman who has a better understanding of herself and her relationships.

Gautham (Surya) – Character of Gautham is mysterious in the beginning and as the movie proceeds one gets to view his transition from an angry young boy to a composed man; from a rouge to a compassionate human. His character shows the different shades of humans. He depicts the transformation in people as they undergo good and bad experiences in life. Gautham’s character in the movie Sillunu oru Kadhal clearly explains the transition in a man’s life from being an ignorant bachelor to a responsible husband and father.

Aishwarya (Bhumika Chawla) – Third and my favorite character ever alongside the character of Vikram in Moksha. She is the most mysterious character in the film and yet in the end, is the only character you are bound to think about, due to her interesting transition. One is provoked to think, what changes, the tragic incidents in life is bound to bring in people? What odds one may have to fight to overcome the pain? I simply love this characters since, unlike the other two, she is incomplete, and there is an intentional secrecy to her personality, which makes one think of her and the reasons for her acts, even after the movie has ended.

Sillunu Our Kadhal is therefore all about these three characters. Interesting thing is that the actors perfectly suit the characters. I have been a fan of Surya since I watched Ghajini and Kakha Kakha. He very nicely conveys the different shades of his character through his expressions. I have been a fan of Jyothika ever since I watched her not so famous Tamil film – Snehidey (Friend) several years ago. She breathes life into the character of Kundavi. After watching Sillunu Oru Kadhal,  I have now become a fan of Bhumika as well. I think nobody else could have suited the role of Aishu. The transition in the character is believable only because of the innocence she carries through during most of the film. One may clearly understand what I am saying if one has watched the movie.

Also, the interesting thing in this movie is that the characters interact less with themselves but more with the audience. Kundavi directly interacts with the audience while narrating her story and Gautham's diary acts as an instrument to move the story forward.  Additionaly, all the other characters in the movie are never aware of what is happening with the 3 central characters, so they behave like anyone normally would - kids behave kids; colleagues behave like colleagues and family like they are and never filmy because, like in real life, all necessarily do not know what we are going through. I liked this style of story telling  in Sillunu Oru Kadhal because it instantaneously connects the audience with the central characters. Nobody else but you know what the characters are going through. 

With all this, one can never forget to give the credit to the brilliant director (N. Krishna) and screenplay writers (N. Krishna and Sab John). Watch Sillunu Our Kadhal for some interesting characters and a fresh style of story telling.

Other recent movies I like for its character portrayal are –

Gaalipata (Kannada)
Boomrilu (Telugu)
7G Rainbow Colony (Tamil)