Nooru Kodi Vaanavil Movie Review:

Weirdly, the word 'pan' in the Indian movie context means trying to be everything rather than some peculiarity that touches everyone across the board. Pan-Indian stories made here often attempt to achieve universality by integrating a multitude of elements instead of simply telling a moving story rooted in a particular setting. There seems to be no end in sight to such storytelling horrors as long as the 'pan' in Pan-India cinema remains misdefined. There is a thing or two or more that Nooru Kodi Vaanavil makers could have learned from C, K and J dramas, which boast a global fan following without obliterating their cultural roots. It is much more painful to see Sasi, a filmmaker who is always on the constant lookout for human stories, commit this sacrilege.

Nooru Kodi Vaanavil follows Fenny (Siddhi Idnani), a Goan girl who religiously documents her daily life until her coma-ridden boyfriend, Richie (Rinil M), wakes up. In the meantime, she comes across Vinoth John Francis (Harish Kalyan), a TV channel show producer who gives wings to her dream of becoming a television host. This could also help fund Richie's treatment. But can she keep those wings and let go of the person who gave them to her, or should she clip them for the sake of the person whose well-being prompted her to don them in the first place?

Culturally unanchored writing is a questionable choice to begin with. In a romance like Nooru Kodi Vaanavil, it becomes a convenient backpedal from the necessary task of creating believable, flesh-and-blood characters that audiences can genuinely care about. There is nothing about Fenny, Vinoth, Richie, or the supporting characters that even mildly piques our interest. A triangular romance with no obvious villain requires all three characters to be compelling. Except for the need to save it for the climax, there is no other reason why Fenny shouldn't have said yes to Vinoth in the first place. Sasi, a filmmaker who deftly handles human emotions, shockingly does not even attempt the done-to-death expository scene that is often inserted in the belief that it will compensate for a character's past misdeeds. Richie is denied even this opportunity.

Director: Sasi

Cast: Harish Kalyan, Siddhi Idnani, Rinil M

Streaming on: Zee5

The film's minor flashes of flair emerge in the moments when Vinoth surrenders to his fate and stops coming between Fenny and Richie. But friction continues to prevail among the three characters. By now, of course, you know the hero will get the girl, as always, so there is little to spoil. The only discernible character trait among the three is Fenny's validation-seeking, doormat-like behaviour. That leaves the makers with their only slender hope of conjuring up some of the conspicuously absent drama. But does Fenny learn from her follies? Does Richie realise that he has been a prick and a bully? Who cares? Fenny comes running, tears streaming down her face, and hugs Vinoth as Siddhu Kumar's music swells. Isn't that feel-good enough? Sigh.

In a template involving two men fighting over one woman, even the male protagonists can be sketched in broad strokes. The woman, however, cannot, as she needs to be analytical enough to decide whom she should be with. Shockingly, Fenny is as air-headed as they come. Neither does her patience wear thin in the face of Richie's controlling behaviour, nor is she shown being swept off her feet by Vinoth's good deeds. In fact, films like this usually rely on the foil to the bad lover to make the female lead realise that she is with someone who is bad for her. Beyond the quintessential exchange of glances and Freudian slips that betray his feelings, there is hardly any effort in Vinoth's characterisation to establish a functional love triangle. Apart from a few jokes courtesy of VJ Paaru and lines such as, "Kekravanukku dhaan yes or no nu rendu badhil irukku, kekkadhavanukku orey badhil no dhaan," even a thorough rummage through the film yields little else worthy of mention in this Sasi film.

You can quite understand that Sasi intends to make a visually rich, breezy and colourful romance and hopes the audience will forgive his sketchy characterisation. Unfortunately, even that ambition falls flat. With Goa as its backdrop, Nooru Kodi Vaanavil does not even take us around the beach destination in the way Ninaithale Inikkum once functioned almost like a Singapore tourism campaign. With human interiority being Sasi's strength, he is visibly torn between that and visual aesthetics. This struggle is even more dramatic than the plot itself, and ultimately Nooru Kodi Vaanavil ultimately ends up going nowhere.