‘Kadha Inuvare’ Movie Review: An inspiring romantic story with no emotional connection

A still from ‘Kadha Inuvare’

An elaborate act of deception forms its core Kadha InuvarVishnu Mohan’s sophomore film. Some of the best screenplays use such method intelligently and systematically to give the audience a real surprise. In the case of this film, not so. The surprise that is evoked in that final moment does not exhilarate one, but somewhat disorientates and depresses.

Given the events of the film up to that point, it seems contrived to salvage a film where four different love stories don’t have their own stand. Although Kadha Inuvar Telugu film remake KancharapalemThis fact is not clearly mentioned anywhere and the director (who previously directed Meppadian) is also credited for the screenplay.

It all starts with the film taking us from one love story to another, shifting back and forth like a simple hyperlink format. In the present day, the film deals with the budding romance between two middle-aged men, Ramachandran (Biju Menon), a peon in a government office, who is still single, and Lakshmi (Methil Devika), a high-ranking official and a single mother. In parallel, the screenplay shifted to three other stories: the innocent love of two school children; the romance between a liquor shop clerk (Hakim Shajahan) and a prostitute Nazima (Anushree); and between college student Uma (Nikhila Bimal) and Joseph (Anu Mohan), a party worker.

But poor writing and characterization are evident throughout the four love stories. The middle-aged couple’s romance, which develops slowly and out of a real need, seems the better-written of the four, but even this track is frustrated by the woman’s lack of agency, who literally begs her brother to let her remarry and stand up for herself. Despite its economic independence, it endures violent outbursts. Similarly, although the bartender’s love is all thanks to the woman’s eyes – who always appear before him with her face covered – he fails to recognize these eyes when he sees her whole face at once.

As for the school romance, it’s mostly a recycling of childhood love seen in many other films. One of the most problematic is the love story of Joseph and Umar, which seems set up to raise the bar for religious conversion. Uma, an otherwise rebellious character, caves without a word following a predictable, guilt-ridden speech from her father about the sacrifices she made, including not marrying after her mother’s death. But then, one has to understand that each of these stories was created not by the elements inherent in the story, but for the convenience of that imagined climax. A desperate attempt to inject a dose of religiosity into many events of the film is also evident.

The twist built into the story fails to save Kadha InuvarNone of the four love stories could create an emotional connection.

Kaada Inuvare is currently playing in theaters