‘Theera Kaadhal’ movie review: Fine performances a consolation in this dull romantic thriller

Jai and Aishwarya Rajesh in a still from ‘Theera Kaadhal’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Stuff With Which Rohin Venkatesan Builds His World Theera Kadhal Quite troubling, an effect that is sometimes intentional and sometimes not. Rohain channels the energy of his 2017 romance thriller ade kangal In yet another romance thriller, but this time, his efforts fail and you are never given a chance to take the film seriously.

Gautama (a dashing Jay) and Aranya (Aishwarya Rajesh, impressive as ever) since their break-up in college. When they meet each other during their respective work trips to Mangalore, Gautham is married to Vandana (the ever-radiant Shivada), and the couple has an adorable little daughter named Aarti (Vriddhi Vishal). And Aranya is married to a wife-beating monk named Prakash (Amjath Khan). Right from the start, Rohin portrays Gautam and Aranya’s lives in stark contrasts to justify their actions. In Mangalore, the romance between the two rekindles but before they take a step from the point of no return, they decide never to meet again and go back to their lives. Whether you choose to watch it or not, the past sticks around you and we feel that the title, ‘Theera Kadhal’ doesn’t just mean ‘immortal love’; Here it refers to an affection, or rather a passion, that is boundless and insatiable.

Right from the start, you feel an emotional distance with the proceedings that only keeps growing. First of all, this is due to the artificiality of the staging of scenes and the writing of dialogues. Like how Aranya’s abusive married life is explained to Gautham through an open dialogue. Or how, as soon as they lose themselves in a moment’s intimacy, they are interrupted by calls from their respective partners – nothing else will say, the consciousness of hurting Gautama’s veneration, deeper than this trite connects with what he’s struggling with? The smallest moments, like when two like-minded individuals say the same thing at the same time, don’t translate all that well on screen and only show how little effort has gone into the writing of the play. You never really understand these lead characters and Rohin cares to add depth to the characterizations when it comes to treatment and narration that supports his ambitions.

To ensure that his primary characters are just the three leads and to add more security to how Aranya behaves later, he casts Prakash as a unidimensional megalomaniacal narcissist – a disturbingly graphic performance. In – kicks and beats his wife. At first, you wonder why Aranya never chooses to go to the authorities. Most women endure domestic abuse and do not go to the authorities for a variety of reasons, from fear to social stigma, with some as simple as pursuing the image of their once-partner. In Aranya’s case, the only reason she is brought to us is that she is all alone in this world and leaving her husband can take away any protection she has. Second, is it necessary to use domestic abuse to have such an effect? Removing the light is not another sign of convenience, but a cop-out action in screenwriting.

Shashiwada in a still from ‘Theera Kaadhal’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The extremely convenient set-up sets you up for a conventional romance drama involving three people, but the film takes an unexpected turn as a romance thriller and it all goes downhill from there. Rohin really struggles to write human greyness, and you see it in how he writes an important character and stages the scenes around him.

Read also:Actor Shantanu on ‘Ravana Kottam’ and turning a new leaf in cinema

To add to the woes, the film doesn’t even care to cross the T to complete its emotional arcs, such as Vandana’s relationship with Gautham and the future of an important character, partly because Rohin uses cheap thriller tricks and suspense. adds so much weight to the construction that the pulse on which everything is built is lost. Which is why each character comes across as bits and pieces, sometimes as borderline idiots and psychopaths, sometimes as robotic as people can be; In any case, we never see them beyond anything or care enough to understand the decisive emotional decisions they often make. Sidhu Kumar’s music is watching, if not for the three capable actors Theera Kadhal Could turn out to be a more patience-testing experience than ever before.

Thira Kadhal is currently running in theaters