Kadaikutty Singam / Chinna Babu Movie Review, Rating
Karthi is back to doing what he's best at, as he has proven himself as a pro when it comes to playing village hero roles, with movies like his debut Paruthi veeran, or the rustic Komban, and continues the same in Kadaikutty Singam / Chinna Babu. As the family's most loved son Thunaisingam, Karthi does a cakewalk, emoting perfectly, dancing gracefully, and excelling in sentimental sequences.
Sathyaraj proves that he's a veteran, with his subtle act as Ranasingam, and excels in his combination scenes with Karthi and Bhanupriya. Sayyeshaa gets her expressions right in few scenes, while her lip sync is a matter of concern. Bhanupriya and Viji Chandrasekhar are fine, while the rest of the cast including Arthana Binu, Soundararaja, Mounika, Ponvannan are adequate. Soori irritates in the name of comedy, rather than evoking laughs.
Background score by D Imman is pleasant, while of his songs, Thandora Kannale, Sandakaari passes the muster, while the rest of the songs aren't worthy enough. Velraj's cinematography captures the rustic milieu perfectly, and the highlights being the Rekla race and the fight sequences. Ruben's editing could have been taut as the movie drags big time.
Known for his rural flicks like Pasanga, Vamsam etc, Pandiraj's last 3 attempts, Pasanga 2, Kathakali and Idhu Namma Aalu have been disastrous outings, and this time around, the director has once again reached his comfort zone of a village-based family flick. Only that Pandiraj has been extremely lethargic in his writing, taking the audience for granted, with a beaten to death plot, and a cliched screenplay, that tests the senses and patience of the audience.
All characters including Karthi's character are poorly written, preventing the audience from getting an emotional connect. The villain Shatru is ineffective, and his sequences and the unwarranted fight scenes in the movie, impact the pace of the already dragging movie, besides, the poor song placements also have an impact.
While the first half moves pointlessly without getting to the core theme, the second half drags big time, ending as a mindless movie camouflaging as a so-called family entertainer. All said, Kadaikutty Singam is what happens when a maker forgets his craft and tries to capitalize on star power alone and fails big time.