Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal is a film written and directed by Vignesh Shivn, and produced by Vignesh Shivn and Nayanthara, and SS Lalit Kumar under the banners Rowdy Pictures and Seven Screen Studios respectively. The film has Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, and Samantha in the lead roles while Prabhu, Redin Kingsley, Kala Master, Maaran, Sreesanth, and others supporting roles. The film has music by Anirudh and cinematography by Vijay Kartik Kannan and SR Kathir.
Ranjankudi Anbarasu Murugesa Boopathy Oohondhiran (a) Rambo (played by Vijay Sethupathi) is a taxi driver by the day and a pub bouncer by the night. As someone who believes he brings bad luck to everyone, he has never experienced love or romance in his life. He becomes good friends with Kanmani (Nayanthara) during the day and Khatija (Samantha) during the night. As fate would have it, both of them propose him on the same day, at the same time and he accepts both. How he handles the relationships and the drama surrounding both the girlfriends form the rest of the plot.
Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (KRK) seems like complete opposites put together in almost every aspect of the film like music, visuals, characters, mood etc., Take the characterisations for example. Khatija wears modern clothes and goes to pub every other night. She's super rich and fits into every stereotype you can have for a modern woman.
On the other hand, Kanmani is a saree clad homely woman, who works hard during the day, doesn't have much money and believes that arranged marriage is the right way to live life. Both of their characters don't undergo any change as such, which makes their actions and to an extent the scenes, more predictable.
The genre is a romantic comedy. The film scores well on comedy than the romantic scenes. The romance is high in the songs and the lyrics. Even when it comes to comedy, there are scenes that are outrageously funny and a few falling flat. In short, there is no in between.
Anirudh's background score is the soul of the film, with the instrumental versions of Naan Pizhai and Two Two Two songs playing in our heads even after the film is over. The score during the marriage scene near the climax involving Nadaswarams is also a delight to our ears. However it also feels like the film has a couple of songs extra which slows down the pace.
We've seen the concept of mirroring in many films. For instance, in a film like Vada Chennai, whatever happens to the character Rajan (Ameer), the same happens to Anbu (Dhanush). We realise that only after the film has ended. But in KRK, we can sense that the incidents that happen in Khatija and Kanmani's lives are similar. If Kanmani is troubled by a rowdy, Khatija is also troubled by a family friend. When Khatija has a change of mindset about Rambo, Kanmani also has the same and so on, that affects the engagement.
Apart from Anirudh's music, the performances by the leads is a highlight. Vijay Sethupathi scores high in the emotional scenes and his bland expressions in serious scenes is used effectively to create humour. Nayanthara and Samantha who has equal screen space, too excel in their roles. Among the supporting cast, Redin Kingsley and the characters who appear as Rambo's uncles nail with their funny expressions.
Overall, Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal engages inspite of its predictable nature. Technically, the film is good, with Anirudh's music, colorful visuals, natural performances and a handful of laugh-out-loud comedy scenes that make it a worthy rom-com.