Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (சில்லுனு ஒரு காதல்)

Rating: 3/4 (Fantastic music, a star couple, an imploring romantic plot and still a letdown!)

I must have listened to the sweet songs from Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (சில்லுனு ஒரு காதல்) countless number of times! Introduced to it by my flatmate, I fell head over heels in love with New York Nagaram and Munbe Vaa. These easily rank as some of the best creations of A. R. Rahman! Add to that the star couple Surya and Jyothika and you have an enticing movie. Due to my dependence on English subtitles for Tamil movies, I could check out this 2006 movie only recently.

Sillunu Oru Kaadhal is a romantic movie starring Surya, Jyothika and Bhoomika. Goutham (Surya) and Kundavi (Jyothika) are thrown together into a wedding planned by their elders. They are both not interested in it, but settle down and in 6 years are a happy loving couple settled in Mumbai, and the parents of a charming little girl. Their cozy haven of love is rocked when Kundavi discovers that Goutham had loved and married another girl Ishu (Bhoomika) in his college years. This wedding was ripped apart by Ishu’s dad, who sends her away to Australia. In Goutham’s college diary Kundavi discovers how madly in love he was with her, poignantly asking that just one day with Ishu would fulfill his life. Wrought by love for Goutham, Kundavi seeks out Ishu and gives the college couple a day together to rekindle their love.

Though backed by fantastic music and a stunning star couple, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal disappoints. The plot is engaging and has lots of potential, but is squandered away in all departments by bad editing, cinematography, acting and sloppy dialogues. Except for New York Nagaram and Munbe Vaa, both of which have poetic lyrics and are slickly shot, I could not even stand watching the rest of the songs. The movie at a length of 3 hours, is far far too long. There is a strong chemistry between Surya and Jyothika, but their acting is nowhere close to what is demanded by their roles. Jyothika implores the viewer to connect to the plight of Kundavi, but is not supported by anything else from the movie. SOK shows lots of potential to be a romantic classic, but in the end is a letdown.