Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya

My review: Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya

Master storyteller K.Bhagyaraj's "Indru Poi Nalai Vaa" is one of the all time classics in Tamil cinema. Remaking it is not a easy joke for each and every characters, scenes and dialogues of the original are all memorable and fresh in mind even though it was made more than three decades ago. Shanthanam and Rama. Narayanan have tried to remake the classic with debutant K.S.Manikandan at the helm with this "Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya" (KLTA). 

First half is almost scene by scene remake with some cosmetic changes here and there while in the second half the makers have taken lot of liberties before finally getting back to the original story line. Though the movie entertain in parts one is always conscious of the original which prevents it from enjoying   it wholeheartedly. At many instances one can't but feel for the original cast which included  K.Bhagyaraj, Pazhaniswamy, Ramli, Kallapetti Singaram and Gandhimathi who has got replaced by the likes of pathetic non-actor Srinivasan, loud Kovai Sarala, passable Sethu and VTV Ganesh. 

Shanthanam to a great extent keeps the movie afloat ( he has made it a habit of saving many mediocre movies in the recent past) with his perfectly timed comical one-liners. It is heartening to note that the crassness which is seen a lot in his comedy off late is bit lesser this time, still he manages to make the audience laugh. Single-handedly he has taken care of what the movie promises to deliver, fun. One can't but get infuriated wondering what this hype is all about "Powerstar" Srinivasan. He doesn't seem to be wee bit knowledgeable about what is acting. He has some bizarre reactions, non-existent body language and pathetic dialogue delivery still people go crazy when he appears on screen, maddening. 

Sethu tries his best to emote and he does succeeds to some extent. Vishaka Singh is ravishing and she emotes well too. Though she is just a showpiece in the first half she has a lot of scope for showcasing her talent in the second half. Kovai Sarala is loud, VTV Ganesh doesn't have much to do and rest of the cast are pretty average. Simbu comes in a dignified cameo.

In Thaman's music "Hey unnathan" and "Naan sollurappa" are good foot-tapping numbers while "Love letter" is a cute "gana" number which is an ear-worm. Background score is average. Balasubramaniem is the cinematographer, has shot the movie conventionally.

Remaking  one of the most entertaining movies in Tamil cinema is not a joke and it clearly shows on screen. Inexperience of Manigandan shows especially in the second half when he tries to take a detour from the original but fails to sustain it before conveniently taking recourse to the original. May be if only they have tried someone with a flair for acting other than Srinivasan, movie might have had more credibility. On the contrary it ends up not taking itself seriously enough.

Though the movie is entertaining in parts one can't but get a feeling of watching "Lollu Sabha". Irrespective of how it fares in the box-office, KLTA is yet another example of why classics should best left untouched.

Bottomline: Shanthanam's one man show.

2.5/5