Unnai Ninaithu(2002)

I came across this title while randomly browsing Nehaflix. When I saw that Sneha(or "Snega", as she's listed on the site) was in the cast, my interest was piqued, and I immediately Googled for more information about the film. I found a link to watch it online, but the site refused to cooperate, so I read a couple of reviews to try to get an idea of whether or not I wanted to buy it.

From The Hindu: "...Here is a young employee of a lodge, who goes out of his way to help his impoverished neighbour and his family — and all he gets in return is humiliation. What is worse, he takes it all lying down. The climax is on expected lines and the treatment lacks punch...If tedium sets in, in the climax the dialogue is the culprit. The similes, metaphors and aphorisms that go on endlessly test your patience..."

From Now Running: "The actual story occupies only 60 percent of the length of the film Rest of the time is eaten up by the so-called comedy of the inmates of the Lodge--Sundarrajan, Charlie & Co. If this was not enough, these are the songs!...If you examine the film in isolation without the comedy(huh?) & songs then Vikraman's story screenplay has only some minor flaws...But, the irksome comedy & its background score and the mind-boggling achievements within the course of a song--how long is Vikraman going to cling on to this formula?"

It doesn't sound too promising :( I'm getting a headache just thinking about the "so-called comedy". On one hand, I want to get it just for Sneha since I like her, and I want to see more of her movies, but on the other hand, I don't want to spend most of my time pressing the fast-forward button. **sigh** I might have to leave this in the "Better Off Not Buying" pile. I really wish I could've checked it out first, because I would hate for my curiosity to get the best of me and end up with something that just sits on my bookshelf, collecting dust. (Speaking of which, I guess I should try to watch Deepavali all the way through at least once. Got it for Bhavana and what little I saw before falling asleep bored me. Live and learn, I guess.)

03/13/09: My curiosity finally got the best of me and I ordered it. The verdict? I would say that the "so-called comedy" eats up SIXTY percent of the movie. I think I spent more time with my finger on the fast-forward button than I did actually watching the film. I wish there were some way to edit DVDs so that I could remove the scenes that annoy me, or slow down the pace of the flick.

Shallowness: Surya looked cute, but I think he's much better-looking without the thick 'tache and pouffed-up hairdo. Laila was lovely, but her character was passive and irritating as fuck. The only time she showed some spunk was when she took Surya to task for beating up her sleazy, would-be fiance. Sneha was gorgeous, as usual. I've said it before and I'll say it again: She was made for saris. Sneha in a sari is way sexier and more alluring than any chick wearing next to nothing.

I would describe this as "an otherwise okay movie marred by unnecessary comedy". I liked the scenes with Sneha and Surya best, mainly because Sneha actually showed signs of life as opposed to Laila, who did little more than sleepwalk her way through the film. Having said that, I would like to check out more of her movies, but only if she's not doing the meek and demure thing. She strikes me as being more of a bubbly Jyothika type.