Love Today movie review: Pradeep Ranganathan, Ivana's rom-com is an exhilarating ride targeted at young audience

3.5/5

Story: A couple in their mid 20s exchanges their phones under a critical circumstance, but little did they know that it would pose a serious threat to their relationship. The little misunderstandings among them lead to serious disputes and them being suspicious of each other. The interference by a few others makes things worse for the two of them. Meanwhile, an explicit video of one of them starts doing the rounds on social media which becomes the final nail in the coffin for their relationship. How are they going to face it?

Review: Director Pradeep Ranganathan, who made heads turn with his debut movie Comali, raised many people's eyebrows when he announced his decision to play the lead in his sophomore film Love Today. However, the biggest challenge for him was to do justice to the short film he made earlier, based on which the movie has been made.

The fun-filled trailer of the rom-com offered a sneak peek into its plot and set the right expectations for the audience, thus elevating expectations surrounding the project.     

Uthaman Pradeep (Pradeep Ranganathan) and Nikita (Ivana), both aged 24 years, decide to get hitched as they feel they are inseparable from each other. The former's mother (Radhika Sarathkumar) and sister (Raveena Ravi) approve their relationship, but the latter's father (Sathyaraj) sets a condition. He asks both Pradeep and Nikita to exchange their respective phones with each other for a day. He promises to approve their relationship if the couple still manages to stay in love with each other the next day. 

With no option left, the two of them agree to his condition. After a while, the couple starts checking each other's personal messages, which leads to a dispute between them. But it was just the tip of the iceberg. The unexpected access to an explicit video featuring Nikita sounded death knell for their relationship.

The manner in which the wafer-thin plot made for a short film has been developed into a series of full-fledged entertaining sequences deserves credit. Staying true to the hilarious content in its trailer, the movie is high on fun and emotions right from the word go. 

The interesting set of conflict between the lead characters, funny one-liners and spontaneous dialogues between the two are an absolute treat to watch. While Pradeep scores with his expressions and antics, Ivana impresses with her sincere portrayal of varied emotions. 

Veterans Sathyaraj and Radhika enhance the narration with their flawless performances. Yogi Babu and Raveena Ravi stand out with their subtle, adequate expressions. Some of the movie's sequences prove to be one of the best examples in recent times to know how aptly cast actors can do wonders to a story.

Though the first half appears a little stretched, the consecutive rip-roaring scenes keep the viewers hooked. The right balance of emotions between various characters and relatable dialogues escalate the latter half despite having chances for the narration to go sloppy.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's background is the backbone of Love Today. The emotions in the film are apt for the musician to give his best output. Dinesh Purushothaman's vibrant visuals and Pradeep E Ragav's slick cuts ably support the storytelling.  

Verdict: Director-actor Pradeep had mentioned in one of his movie promotions that the film has been made for 2K kids. It looks like he is completely aware of his target audience and has exactly served what they need.