Hey Sinamika movie review: Dulquer, Aditi, Kajal stand out in this decent romantic drama

3/5

Story: A young, career-oriented woman who is not able to tolerate her husband's talkative nature and obsession for cooking, seeks the help of a psychologist to get separated from him. She also requests the psychologist to get close to her husband and build a fake relationship with him so as to get a divorce citing this as a valid reason.

Review: It's been a while since Tamil cinema has attempted a love triangle. What makes such romantic dramas work are the chemistry between lead actors, compelling screenplay, relatable sequences and effective emotions. Leading dance choreographer Brinda's directorial debut, Hey Sinamika, too, boasts of a few of these aspects.

The movie begins with Yaazhan (Dulquer Salmaan) and Mouna (Aditi Rao Hydari) meeting at a restaurant in Kochi in an unusual setting. Without wasting much time in introducing the characters and their background, the director establishes a fairy tale love which appears brittle and rushed, thanks to the staging.

Yaazhan is a happy-go-lucky guy who is full of life. A proud house husband, his interests lie in gardening, cooking and other household chores. Mouna, on the other hand, is a career-oriented professional, whose area of interest is study of winds. Everything went fine for two years until Mouna started feeling awful about Yaazhan's talkative nature, obsession with cooking and constant offering of advice.

With no option left, she decides to get separated from her husband. Though she hatches a few plans for the same along with her colleagues, all those turn out to be futile, much to her disappointment. So when she gets an opportunity to spend a year in another city for a work-related assignment, she grabs it immediately.

After moving to the new place, she seeks the help of Malarvizhi (Kajal Aggarwal), a psychologist who is expert in relationships. Mouni narrates her problems to her and even goes on to request her to build a fake relationship with him so as to get rid of him forever, citing infidelity as the reason.

Will Mouni's plan work this time? Will Malarvizhi be able to convince Yaazhan to fall in love with her?

First things first. It's been a while since a complicated love story has been told from a female lead's perspective despite a star like Dulquer playing the husband character. The story revolves around Aditi's character; we empathize with her issues despite knowing the fact that Yaazhan is a caring and close to perfect husband.  

Coming back to Mouni, we have come across several similar characters played by male actors. But it was fun to watch Aditi running the show with Dulquer taking a backseat. On the other hand, we feel for Yaazhan as well. Like Mouna's colleague says, he has certain characteristics which any girl would love to have in their husband.

This aspect has been interestingly dealt with, thanks to the effective screenplay and convincing chemistry between the two actors. The plot becomes interesting when Yaazhan takes up a job which he instantly falls in love with. Malarvizhi's entry in his life as per Mouna's plan makes things even more complex.

This is where the director starts exploring the love triangle. But as the story progresses, the way Malarvizhi's character has been handled falters a bit. There is a reason as to why her character is judgmental about something, but we feel slightly disconnected about this part which affects the story's further sequences.

It is the flawless performances of the three lead characters complemented by Preetha Jayaraman's beautiful cinematography which make the viewers glued to the screen. The character of a person who is full of life is a cakewalk for Dulquer. Though his appearance and some mannerisms remind you of a few of his previous films, he comes up with outstanding performance, especially in a crucial scene where he realizes that he has been living in an unreal world.

In many sequences, it is Aditi who carries the movie on her shoulders, thanks to her expressions and body language. Kajal is convincing as the matured, practical doctor who also has a vulnerable side to her.  

Every song of Govind Vasantha belongs to a different genre; this aspect along with the background score elevates the emotions impressively. Some of the dialogues by Madhan Karky stand out; they are simple, real and relatable.  

A little more care in the screenplay in the latter half and addition of a few unpredictable moments in the climax would have made the movie a completely compelling watch. An intriguing aspect associated with AR Rahman's songs in the story is left unexplored after the plot becomes complex.

Verdict: Effective screenplay and convincing chemistry between the lead actors work in favour of the movie, despite a few shortcomings.