Leelai

My review : Leelai

Debutant writer , director, Andrew Louis’ “Leelai” is a breezy romantic comedy on the lines of yesteryear Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movies. It strictly follows the template of the Hollywood romcoms but comes across as a whiff of fresh air for Tamil cinema where sickle & sexism rules. Though predictable the screenplay is fresh & realistic with enjoyable casual dialogues adding on to the delight. And most importantly the cast & their neat portrayal make the movie a lot enjoyable.

Here the hero is not a saint , he has his flaws , does a lot of dissocial activities but yet he is genuine & unpretentious. Shiv Pandit in this role of Karthik gets his lip sync absolutely perfect for the starters. His expressions , the way he conveys myriad of emotions , his charm , he must be the next one to claim the chair vacated by Arvinth Sami & Madhavan. Not one do you feel that he is not a native for he has absolutely ingrained into the character he plays.

Heroine Karunai Malar starts of as an opinionated , feministic , paranoid college girl who undergoes a personality change of sorts after she falls in love with the stranger. Manasi Parekh who enacts Malar is first class. Like Karthik she also gets her lip sync correct all the time. She lives the role of the urban Tamil Christian software engineer flawlessly. She may not have earth-shattering looks but manages to captivate the audience with her alluring simplicity.

Suhasini Raju gets a good role as a common friend of both the protagonist. She is talented  & has utilised the opportunity very well. Sad such talented people are not getting noticed.

Shanthanam does his sexist routine in the name of comedy. He redeems himself in the parts where he comes as the friend of Malar & colleague of Karthik.

Huge pillar of strength for this movie is it’s songs , music composed by Satish Chakravarthy. “Oru kili oru kili ” is a soothing romantic number while “Jillendru Oru kalavaram” is an enjoyable melody. “Ponmalai pozhuthu” is another pleasant melody. Not only songs , Satish has done a neat job in his background score as well though heavily inspired by the Hollywood romcoms.

Velraj’s cinematography has neatly captured the interiors of the IT company that the lead pair work in. Songs are picturized very tastefully.

On the whole, Andrew Louis has neatly packaged the movie with correct dose of romance &  comedy with a touch of melodrama (thankfully not overdone though had scope for it) , stylishly shot & told.

Bottomline: Love (the) game

3.5/5