Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadaithaal Movie Review: An engaging romantic thriller

Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Gautham Menon, Rakshan, Ritu Varma, Niranjani Ahathian

Directed By: Desingh Periyasamy

The title of the film is taken from the song in 1993 Mani Ratnam's Thiruda Thiruda which was about two thieves on the run. Desingh Periyasamy’s film too is about lovably dishonest protagonists who chase after money and find love on the way.

A film directed by debutant Desingh Periyasamy, which many thought would never make it owing to financial issues, has finally got a theatrical release. Surprisingly, Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal looks fresh and is an enjoyable rom-com or more appropriately, a rip-roaring con ride, mainly owing to its smart writing.

Two sophisticated youngsters (Dulquer and Rakshan) earn huge money under the mask of computer application developers and animation experts but in reality, they are techie frauds who loot money using modern technologies in fields like online shopping. 

Life goes well for them until they meet two good-looking girls (Ritu Varma and Niranjana). Both the young boys are smitten by the honest life-style of the girls and decide to quit from their tech crimes! All the four with big dreams go to Goa to start a fresh life and business with all the money they earned so far.    

Meanwhile, an upright cop(Gautham Menon) chases down our protagonists for their unexposed crimes. What happens next? 

The film has a corny beginning, with Desingh falling back on cliches to introduce Siddharth (Dulquer) and Kallis (Rakshan) as two carefree youths who party day and night. Siddharth is also stalking Meera (Ritu Varma) but hasn’t mustered the courage to ask her out. It all looks very average, with some painful comedy and forced tributes to Rajinikanth to boot. But just as you settle down to watch yet another unimaginative romcom, the screenplay picks up pace. 

Like Irumbuthirai, KKK gives us an insight into modern-day crimes where the thief is invisible, and your sense of security can be shattered with the click of a button. Here, it’s two engineers, Siddharth and Kallis, who use their skills to commit fraud. Meera and her friend Shreya (Niranjani) are largely decorative in the first half, and I kept thinking that there must be more to Meera for Ritu Varma to have agreed to do the role. And I wasn’t wrong. In a sense, the director plays up the clichés that we’ve come to expect in the average Tamil film to hoodwink us.

What’s especially refreshing about KKK is that it’s not interested in lecturing to the audience. All the characters are amoral, and even the women get a free pass to a certain extent. There simply aren’t enough Tamil films which are made purely for fun, and for this alone KKK deserves to succeed. 

The television anchor-turned-actor Rakshan makes his one-liners brings the house down. Ritu Varma of Pelli Chooplu-fame makes a terrific comeback and is impressive in the climax, while Niranjani Ahathian, as her friend, is equally good. Dulquer, with his icy cool looks and the way he takes control with his swag in the car heist job, is fab. However, it is Gautham Menon who steals the thunder in a serious role with shades of dark humor. 

Despite the lengthy runtime of 2 hours and 40 minutes, KKK stays enjoyable for the most part. It may not blow your mind, but it’s good, harmless fun and god knows, the audience needs more of that.