Tamil Movie Review

One can best describe this as a faithful remake with almost everything in the original recreated well in Tamil. Three cheers to director Kannan, because in Kanden Kadhalai he has faithfully followed the footsteps of Imtiaz Ali and in the process made an impressive remake of Jab We Met.

Sakthivel (Bharath) and Anjali (Tamannah) come across each other in a train to Madurai. The youth, defeated in both his business and romance, takes the journey with no particular destination, no aim in mind. A soft-spoken Sakthivel meets Anjali, who is his direct opposite.
A sequence of events leads to Anjali missing the train after she decides to help Sakthivel. As a result, she starts to blame Sakthi and tells him in no uncertain terms that as he is responsible for her predicament, it's his duty to ensure that she reaches her destination -- her native place.

The first half is all about their journey from Vridhachalam to Theni. Thanks to Anjali, Sakthivel slowly develops interest in his life and becomes self-confident again. Her grandfather (Ravichandran), her father (Nizhalgal Ravi) and her uncle (Azhagam Perumal) greet Sakthivel effusively and urge him to stay for a week.

In the mist of all this bonhomie, arrives Mokkai Perumal (Santhanam), Anjali's `morai' mama who wants to marry her.

But the bubbly Anjali decides to elope instead, to Ooty, with her boyfriend Goutham Menon (Munna). She asks Sakthivel for help. When they elope, the whole family thinks Anjali has walked out of the house to marry Sakthivel, who carries on with his life and brings his business back on track. Till he gets the news that Anjali is not married to Goutham.

The rest of the plot plays out between Anjali, Sakthi and Munna -- no prizes for guessing whom she finally decides to marry! It has no complex storyline, no thrills or spills, it's just a feel-good story with entertaining elements all through. Kannan has given Imtiaz Ali's story the perfect local flavour. Tamannah plays the role enacted by Kareena Kapoor, while Bharath essays Shahid Kapoor's role.

Bharath seems to have strictly followed Shahid Kapoor in his mannerisms and costumes. He impresses in the first half as a soft-spoken, dejected youth. Tamannah, who played a bubbly young girl in Anandha Thandavam has plunged enthusiastically into a similar role here and man ages to come up trumps. Santhanam is the scene-stealer. Munna as Goutham Menon, despite appearing briefly, gives a neat performance.

If the USP of JWM was the Punjabi family around which the story revolved, KK is woven around a Thevar family in Theni.

Vidhyasagar's music is average when compared to the tracks in the original. P.G.
Muthiah's cinematography captures the beauty of Ooty. The movie is a bit slow as it begins but be patient if you want to enjoy some magic moments in the second half.