Kadhalan Review

I still remember the amount of photos and pics I had of this movie during High School. It was so ridiculous that I was constantly teased about it from my friends and family. But what can I say? Prabhu Deva was my first crush. Although Kadhalan was not just a film I watched for Prabhu Deva. Nagma wasn't really a favourite but was more appealing than some of the shocking examples that came from the other states during that period. Not to mention Shankar who had a smashing debut with Gentlemen, A.R.Rahman rocking the OST and the choreography that was catalyst to the 4 years I spent learning Bharatha Natyam in attempt to find my inner Prabhu. 

If you haven't seen this film, I would like to know which rock you have been hiding under [I might find use for it in the future]. But since tradition has followed me throughout this blog, here's the gist of this cult classic. Prabhu [Prabhu Deva] is your average college goer with a heart of gold. He has his fun with his friends going to late night movies, the casual glances at girls on the bus and playfully getting into trouble with his loving father [S.P.Balusubramaniam]. All is well till the girl of his dreams that he has drawn in a sketch book enters his life as Shruthi [Nagma]. She is beautiful, intelligent and a dedicated Bharatha Natyam dancer who's also his excellency the Govenor Kakarla Sathyanarayana [Girish Karnad]'s one and only daughter. For most Shruthi may be too high out of reach but cupid's arrow has hit Prabhu hard so none of it matters. So after the usual squabbles, one helleva dance sequence and a interesting joy ride to Chidambaram, the two are head over heels. However, while the lovers have their unplanned romance, Kakarla has his own plans of terror in play with his bomb expert Malli [Raghuvaran] who plants a bomb at the temple hall in Chidambaram that Shruthi is performing at against her father's wishes.Why? All in the name of politics and money. An intervention saves them from the bomb blast but both fall prey to Kakarla's wrath and their love is tested. Prabhu is arrested under false allegations and Shruthi takes matters into her own hands in a self-inflicted jail. Only after making a public issue of it in front of Kakarla's colleagues does her father relent and ship her off to her grandparents place. But love is love without a triumph over evil so while Prabhu finds his ladylove, he will also be tested on his love for his fellow man in a race against time and a ticking bomb. 

There have been many stories about lovers being separated by family but I found Kadhalan to be honest in its commercial value and a little brutal with its screenplay. Maybe its my lack of tolerance to seeing pain but even now, 17 years after its release, the jail scenes in this film make me cringe. Prabhu Deva had been seen on screen before with his cameos in songs, and his first full length role in Indhu but I dont think anyone was prepared for this. Granted Shankar may have had a major hand in it but Prabhu delivers with his tall and lanky exterior that fits the bill perfectly. He is cheeky, lovable, and matured. I personally feel that Vikram's dubbing is exquisite and works for him big time. And dont start me on his dancing!! Rarely do you see a male doing proper Bharatha Natyam on screen and after Kamal Haasan, Prabhu is my fav. Nagma is the quintessential commercial heroine of the 90s. Glamourous as hell but she chips in a power packed performance. Only qualm I have is that her dancing scenes could have been choreographed a bit better to not make it so obvious she isn't the dancer or lacks the knowledge her character possesses. I still cant believe that its Vadivel that I am seeing on screen. After seeing him in Devar Magan, he looks completely different and his acting top notch in the city slicker/flirt role. Prabhu and his combo have been seen many times since but somehow this first time never fails to come to mind as the best. S.P.Balasubramaniam is one of the few singers that I feel is amazing on screen as well. As a doting father, he is perfect and there are no questions on how a lanky son can have such a big built father. Girish and Raghuvaran are equal yet different in the villain act, with Girish getting a sinister edge with his downplay of the Govenor. This review would not be complete with mentioning the greats Manorama and Allu Ramalingaiah. They may have had a very short cameos in the film as Nagma's grandparents but both tickle the funny bone every time. 

Technology may have advanced so the invisible man dancing effects may seem very average but for its time, Kadhalan had amazing visuals [the late Jeeva], great VFX [Venky] and crisp editing[B.Lenin and V.T.Vijayan] but what I loved most about the film was the dialogue. Balamurugan infuses so much life and keeps the proceedings as real as possible which is a major plus for a grand film. The innovation of how natural the words flow makes it relatable even in extreme circumstance but Kadhalan doesn't always escape. My personal favourite scenes include SPB trying to find out the girl that Prabhu is in love with and Nagma little rampage in front of the VIPs at her house. Moving on to Shankar, after Gentleman, he was quick to change paths and proved his deft handling of the megaphone in Kadhalan. KT Kunjumon trusted the director blindly so to speak with Gentleman but the director proved he is not a one hit wonder. As co writer, he must be commended for the language of ladies that surely must have created a craze at the time, if anything, alongwith the others styles that have surely been influenced by this film. But there is one person that overshadows all of these people which is also my favourite aspect of the film, the music by A.R.Rahman. After Roja and Gentleman, this film got him the Tamil Nadu state award and Filmfare, making that 3 consecutives win. What can you say about the master that emerged and took everyone by storm. From classic "mass" style song to a rap to a melody, Kadhalan's OST has all that you need and is the kind of music that pioneered much of what runs on the radio nowadays. More than anything, the film's music has been dubbed into three different languages and while there are some similarities, most will say they cater varying audiences. To bowl all of them over and garner the same if not more intense success is something that doesn't come easy and compliments are a must for the entire team. 

Most reviews have a few lines about the downside of the films I watch but we are talking about a cult classic. Logics were bent and twisted so badly through this era that it was a norm for our hero to jump almost a full body and a half of the floor to get to his girl flying away in a chopper. Or police jeeps crisscrossing each other as they to fly to depths of doom while motorcycles will "trip" over pumpkins with heads drawn on them as a normal walking person would. But I dont write this to mock. These things were as acceptable as our hero penetrating through the state Govenor's to perform for [read: impress] his girl. But where Shankar and his team succeed is you not only overlook this but stay in tune with the story and root for the lovers to unite. 

Kadhalan: A timeless classic that crossed boundaries and won more than one girl's heart.