Genre : Comedy

Director: Srinivas

Cast: Madhavan, Abbas, Prema, Harani, Prakashraj, Satish Shah

Unnai Kan Theduthey A few weeks ago, Rajnikanth was the victim when a "new" movie of his, Aandavan, was released. It was infact a clumsy dubbing of an old Hindi movie where Rajni's role could be described as marginal at best. Perhaps to illustrate that no one is safe from such an ordeal, it is now the turn of Madhavan, who is now hot property in Kodambakkam in the wake of the success of Alaipayuthey, to have an old Kannada movie of his dubbed into tamil and released. While Rajnikanth is ensconced firmly enough to survive several Aandavans, Madhavan's performance here might very well erode his fan base, though the movie itself is passable entertainment.

The movie is obviously targeted at the college-going portion of the population and radiates fun and youth from every frame. Siddharth(Madhavan) and Shanti are siblings who are completely under the control of their rich, strict and miserly father Ananthamoorthy(Satish Shah). Into their lives enters Raju(Abbas), a poor youth, who is fired from jobs faster than he changes his shirts. Raju takes the brother and sister, alongwith a college friend Suji, out for a day of fun, a concept they are so far unfamiliar with. But things get serious when the four of them are kidnapped by Ganga Prasad(Prakashraj).

The producer seems to have banked on two things to make his money from this movie - Rajnikanth and audience familiarity with Madhavan. So Abbas is a fan of Rajnikanth, which enables the filmmakers to introduce a film clip from Mannan, play songs from Rajnikanth movies in the background and have Abbas talk to foreigners about making Padaiyappa a hit in their land. Madhavan, with only one movie to his credit, offers a lot less oppurtunity for exploitation but the directors have done what they can by playing songs from Alaipayuthey in the background in the few scenes where Madhavan is in the forefront.

While the initial portions where Abbas takes Madhavan and co. out have been done with an eye on fun, these are the least interesting portions of the movie. Their antics are slapstick and amateurish and definitely don't add any respect to college students. The fashion show is laughable and as always, there is a music competition where all other contestants are booed off stage while the whole auditorium dances to Abbas' mediocre song and dance. The part where Abbas teaches the foreigners to eat a dosai is interesting but happenings in the mall and the cloth shop are quite cartoonish.

The two students following the foursome raises some suspense and points to something interesting ahead. Thankfully, the director spices things up with the kidnapping instead of miring it in sentiments. Things perk up once Prakashraj kidnaps them and the movie gets more professional and interesting. Major credit for this goes to Prakashraj whose performance contains the right amount of villainy instead of caricaturing it in line with the rest of the movie (his name, wig and costume remind us of a political leader and the fact that he is from Gujarat does little to make this go away). The tone of the movie itself shifts from here with a little bit of serious threats, violence and shooting. Madhavan overacts and his attempted portayal of innocence ends up seeming more silly and comical. His unruly hair doesn't add to his appeal either. Abbas naturally has the larger role and is adequate. The two heroines won't be winning any prizes for either acting or glamour. Though the lyricist has struggled to find tamil words for the tunes, song sequences are picturised with imagination. They are fast, colourful and upbeat with some nice costumes and effects.