Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal (2022) is a film written and directed by Vishal Venkat and produced by AR Entertainment and Trident Arts. It has Ashok Selvan, Manikandan, Abi Haasan and Praveen Raja in the lead roles while Nasser, Riythvika, KS Ravikumar, Rishikanth, Ilavarasu, Reyya, Abishek Kumar and others play crucial supporting roles. It has music by Radhan and cinematography by Meyyendiran.

The lives of a customer service agent (Ashok Selvan) in a cell phone showroom, a maintenance department head (Manikandan) in a top resort, the son of an acclaimed director, who is making his debut as a lead actor (Abi Haasan), and an IT Professional (Praveen Kumar) obsessed with his wealth are intertwined by a single incident. How do their lives change after the incident is what the film is all about.

Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal, as the title suggests, tries to capture the lives of the above mentioned people as real as possible. The plot is also written in a natural way which gets reflected in the plot conflicts. At no point do you feel that the events happening are forced. Everything comes together so beautifully, and the dramatic elements work extremely well. The title is inspired from writer Jeyakanthan's novel, and just like his literary works, the writing has strong emotional depth.

Even at a few places where the writing becomes weak, the performances of the actors do well to make the scenes watchable. Ashok Selvan and Manikandan especially shine well with their performances. Manikandan who portrays Rajasekar has to inform Vijayakumar (played by Ashok Selvan) about a tragic event. His body language and dialogue delivery make you rise up and give a standing ovation to the man. This tiny sequence is a testament to his acting skills. The other actors which include the likes Nasser, Praveen Raja, Riythvika, Abi Hassan and Rishikanth too come up with commendable performances.

Another interesting part about the film is that there are no heroic moments for anyone. All the leads share a common emotion of grief, and the way they all react to it is interesting and convincing at the same time. The female characters are written with agency and are bold in their own ways. It is rare to see a film where a female character doesn't compromise on her ideals till the end of the film, and this film too joins the list. The film's issuesare highly predictable in nature, and one can sense the main tragedy happening, miles away before it actually happens.

On the technical side, Radhan's music lends great support to the script. It keeps us engaged, and amplifies the emotional scenes to the next level. The songs, which appear as montages, do not disturb the narrative. The cinematography and editing by Meyyendiran and Prasanna GK respectively work well as a combination. Even if they are not outstanding, they've done whatever is required from them.

Overall, Sila Nerangalil Sila Manidhargal is a film where most portions work well. The remaining arc alone pulls down the engagement factor. Technically the film is of great standard, covering up a lot of the film's flaws. Despite being predictable in many places, the film will still entertain you because of its focused writing and solid performances.