Kalyanam Kamaneeyam Review: Has a relatable idea but fails to create an impact

2/5

Story

Shruthi(Priya Bhavani Shankar) and Siva(Santosh Soban) are in a relationship from their college life itself. Despite not having a job, Siva takes a daring step and gets married to Shruthi. The couple starts living a happy life until Shruthi starts forcing Siva to get a job. But for some reason, Siva does not settle down and starts driving a cab. He lies to Shruthi that he is working as a software engineer. This small lie of Siva brings happiness at first but complicates things later. The rest of the story is about how Siva and Shruthi sort out their differences and settle down in life.

Review

Kalyanam Kamaneeyam is produced by UV Concepts who are known to make films that have unique concepts. This time, they choose the story of a successful wife and a jobless husband. The backdrop, the relationship between a modern couple, and ego issues are established well during the initial portions of the film. But from there, the conflict between the lead pair is not highlighted enough.

The entire first half shows the husband struggling to make peace with his jobless life. The concept of lying to the wife and taking the burden on oneself has been showcased in so many films earlier. Novelty-wise, Kalayanam Kamaneeyam has nothing new to showcase. Women facing issues in the office, the husband struggling to impress his wife, and ego clashes, are highlighted well but they do not create any impact on the audience as they are ages old.

Performance-wise, Priya Bhavani Shankar gets a meaty role and does well as the nagging wife. Her look and character have been designed well. Santosh Soban is a very talented actor and he plays the role of an underdog in a beautiful manner. The way he holds his emotions and emotes through his eyes is quite impressive. The scene where Priya Bhavani Shankar insults Santosh and the emotional reaction that the latter gives without going overboard show the acting prowess Santosh has. Satyam Rajesh as the manager who harasses the heroine is impactful.

The other supporting cast is neat and ably does their part. UVConcepts is known to make all their in a rich manner and the same is the case with Kalyanam Kamneeyam. Karthik Ghattamaneni's camerawork is top-notch as the aesthetics of the film are superb. The colorful visuals and neat music by Shravan Bhardwaj bring depth to the proceedings. The film has meaningful dialogues and those written for the heroine's father were impressive.

The first half of Kalyanam Kamaneeyam only establishes the storyline and the interval bang is just the face-off between the lead couple. The actual drama starts in the second half and one wonders how director Anil Kumar will bring closure to these small but key issues in a relationship. But sadly, his narration is old school as the climax is rushed and the ego clashes are brought down with a small realization scene that happens between the heroine and her father.

Things are too convenient by the end as the issue is cleared in a very routine and mundane manner. There are no twists or emotions that will move you in this film which has a been there done that kind of scenario. The only solace is the modern setting and no over-melodramatic moments.

Verdict

On the whole, Kalyanam Kamaneeyam is a very old-school relationship drama that has given a modern setup. While the aesthetics, performance by Santosh Soban, and a few emotional scenes are okay, the rest of the film is mundane and has nothing new to showcase making it a boring watch this festive season.