When Suriya comes forward to produce a film starring his brother Karthi, it must be exciting to hear, right? What if that was a village-based multi-starrer family drama? That is what Kadaikutty Singam is. Director Pandiraj helms this film that stars a battalion of fine actors that include Sathyaraj, Soori, Sayyeshaa, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Arthana Binu, Ponvannan, Bhanupriya, Viji Chandrashekar, Sriman, Soundararajan, Yuvarani, Mounika, Ilavarasu, Maarimuthu and a host of others. D Imman, Velraj, Ruben, Veerasamar and others make up the technical team.
Kadaikutty Singam (KKS) is a multi-conflicted rural drama that has family values and farming as its core ingredients. After two marriages and four daughters, Ranasingam (Sathyaraj) finally gets a male child Gunasingam (Karthi), as per his wishes. What are the different troubles that this son can possibly come face to face with, and how he tackles them all to make sure that the family is intact, is what forms the crux of the story.
KKS manages to please its target audience by mixing the perfect amount of commercial factors in a message-oriented presentation. The first applause must go to Pandiraj for writing strong characters, with plenty of moments to cherish through the course of its run. Each character gets its chance to take the driver's seat and move the story forward. The screenplay brings to the foray, strong dialogues and a gripping drama that picks up the intensity right after the intermission. Pandiraj's attempt at making the audience connect to the happenings proves to be successful in the latter half of the film, with the narrative finding a smooth path as it progresses. The director also demonstrates his experience in bringing out the life of the character, not just through the writing but also by extracting lively performances from the actors. Even though there are over 10-15 people playing central characters, each of their approach to take charge of the situation at hand is impressive.
Speaking of which, Karthi fits the bill and portrays his role with conviction and subtlety, while Sayyeshaa is endearing throughout. Priya Bhavani gets a meaty role and aces it, while Sathyaraj, Arthana, Viji Chandrasekar, and Banupriya have their moments. Soori's one-liners are admirable, though helter-skelter. His combination with Karthi is something to watch out for. Mostly, it is the situation that plays the antagonist, as the villain doesn't make a major impact, though having his share of adding nuisance to the story-line. On the flipside, as most of the sequences are dialogue and conflict-driven, a section of the audience might feel that it is too dramatic. Which beyond a point, hurts the engagement factor.
The screenplay is formed with multiple layers contributing to the conflicts within and outside the family. Given that, Ruben's editing plays a major role in giving a sense of coherence to the film. Imman rushes in with the Kaalai Theme and fills us up neatly. A couple of songs might seem like speed-breakers in the screenplay. The fight scenes are interesting, though one may feel that they could have been more striking in terms of choreography. Apart from all these aspects, Velraj handles the camera like the professional he is. The visuals certainly set the mood of the film, and the tone is wonderfully conveyed.
In a nutshell, KKS is a well-written commercial pot-boiler which could catch the right note among the drama lovers.