Theera Kaadhal review: Jai, Aishwarya Rajesh and Sshivada elevate this partly engaging romantic drama

3/5

Story: A Chennai-based family man meets his ex lover during an official trip to Mangaluru. His first love, too, travels to the same city for an official purpose. They relive their old memories for a few days during their stay in the neighbouring state. The duo decides to end their rekindled love after returning to Chennai. However, one of them keeps pestering the other, thus leaving their respective family lives in trouble. How are they going to sort it out? Will they be able to keep their past at bay and begin a new life?      

Review: Rohin Venkatesan, who made his debut with slick thriller flick Adhe Kangal, is back with a romantic drama this time. The plot involving a family man who's torn between his doting wife and his ex offers nothing new, but the screenplay coupled with convincing performances make it a decent outing.

Gautham (Jai) is on his way to Mangaluru for an official purpose and bumps into his college love Aranya (Aishwarya Rajesh). After the two realize that they are traveling to the same city, they rekindle their eight year old romance. Though they ensure that their newly-found love shouldn't affect their respective families, shit hits the fan. How it affects Gautham's wife Vandhana (Sshivada) and their daughter forms the rest of the story.  

What appears to be a predictable story goes on to entertain till the end because of the engaging moments in the film. Some of the character sketches and flow of sequences are as old as the hills, but the treatment and unexpected turns at regular events come to the rescue.

Jai's flawless portrayal of a family-loving happy-go-lucky husband who develops feelings for his ex, Aishwarya's performance as a simple wife who craves for love after receiving ill-treatment from husband and Sshivada's dignified depiction of a homemaker who equally excels at her job uplift a plot which has loose ends.

Abdool Lee, Vriddhi Vishal and Amzath Khan register their presence with their notable characters. GR Surendernath's dialogues are effective and elevate certain situations. Siddhu Kumar's songs are okayish while the background score helps in making viewers connect with the characters' emotions.

On the downside, the plot is stretched to an extent because of which even the shorter run time makes us feel that the movie is a tad long. The conflict the story's protagonist Gautham goes through is relatable and predictable. The lack of novelty in the conflict is obvious at a few instances which makes viewers slightly detach from the flow of events.   

Verdict: The dedicated performances of artists, relatable moments and convincing emotions justify the title Theera Kaadhal and make it a harmless watch.