Chennai

Director Pandiraj, who has been successful in delivering family entertainers with a rural backdrop, is back with another. But this time with Karthi. 

The actor had established himself as a successful hero with Paruthiveeran and Komban, which was set in a village backdrop. However, unlike their previous films, Kadaikutty Singam maintained a low-key ahead of its release. 

The film begins with Ranasingam (Sathyaraj) and Vaanava Maadhevi (Viji Chandrasekhar), parents of five girls wishing for a boy child. 

Ranasingam decides to marry the sister of his first wife, Panjava Maadhevi (Bhanupriya), who also bears him a daughter. A frustrated Ranasingam looks for a third wife but fortunately, his first wife becomes pregnant and names him Gunasingam (Karthi). He grows up to become a farmer. 

His sisters compete among themselves to get Gunasingam married to one of their daughters — Chellama (Priya Bhavanishankar) and Aandal (Arthana Binu). But Gunasingam falls in love with Kannukiniyal (Sayyeshaa). 

Gunasingam’s archrival, Kannukiniyal’s potential groom Kodiyarasu (Chandru), plots the former’s murder. 

While the drama makes for a decent first half, the second half maintains the pace and leads to the climax. Pandiraj’s hard-hitting dialogues on family values and farming deserve a huge applause. Every character in the film is well-etched and makes the audiences fall in love with it. 

The director has given traditional names to characters to add more charm to the film and the artistes have managed to bring their characters to life. Sayyeshaa, who plays a rustic role for the first time, has done a great job. Moreover, her lip sync and ‘para’ dance show has adapted well to Tamil cultural sensibilities. 

Of late, Soori’s one-liners were getting monotonous and weren’t working well with the masses. But, his role, Sivagamiyin Selvan, in Kadaikutty Singam gives him enough space to establish himself as a character artiste. 

Arthana Binu and Priya Bhavanishankar, too, play their parts well. Character artistes Ponvannan, Saravanan, Sriman, Maarimuthu, Ilavarasu, Yuvarani, Deepa and Mounika have enhanced the script with their natural performances. 

Imman’s background score and Velraj’s cinematography are also talking points. The only drawback is the melodramatic screenplay in the second half. The film could have been cut short by 10 minutes to keep up the pace. 

Despite the stellar star cast, Karthi Sivakumar has single-handedly shouldered the film to success. He has ventured into a new territory altogether with his film and has pulled it off effortlessly. 

Sathyaraj’s characterisation adds value to the script and can easily be considered as his career best. Overall, Kadaikutty Singam is a perfectly packed entertainer for the family audience. 

Movie Rating: 3.5/5

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