By Vivek Ramz

Romantic films are the flavour of the Valentine season and urban romantic films like VTV & KSY which released in the previous years went on to be successful. It’s no different this year. ‘Sillunu Oru Sandhippu’ wanted to cash in on the trend and was released with some expectations, but sadly it failed to recreate the same kind of magic this year.

What’s it about?

The plot revolves around three characters namely Ashok (Vimal), Charu (Dipa Shah) & Geetha (Oviya). The film opens in a school near Ooty where Ashok & Geetha are class XII students who fall in love with each other. Knowing this, Geetha’s parents try to separate them by moving her to Chennai. The couple runs to a nearby police station to get married but the inspector ignores them as they are minors. However he does assure them that he will ensure they unite them after they turn 18. They both move on, promising to reunite.

Five years later, Vimal returns to Ooty after working in USA. He meets Charu and is impressed by her character. Later, he finds out that she is the one who wrote letters on behalf of his grandmother and falls in love with her all over again. Both their families accept their love and get them engaged. Things move smoothly until she gets to know about his school-time love. After knowing this, she calls off the wedding and Geetha returns.

‘Sillunu Oru Sandhippu’ is not a typical love triangle and tries to convey the message that teenage love won’t sustain and it is mature love, which comes later in the life, that will stand the test of time. Director Ravi Lallin deserves appreciation for this concept but he failed to bring the same on screen with the required effect. He lost the focus on the message and tried to play safe with commercial elements which backfired. Though the film has its moments like the scene where Charu advises Ashok about the limits to maintain during love and meaning of marriage, or the scene where Vimal says it’s the family which’ s more important than money, Ravi failed to capitalize on it, lets the script hang loose and the film drags big time towards the end.

The story has the potential to become coming-of-age romance but the poor execution with saggy screenplay doesn’t help its cause. The innuendos in the name of comedy has cut the flow of the film and further added to its woes. F.S.Faizal’s songs are just average and test the viewer’s patience some more.

Vimal, who has failed miserably in his previous urban avatar in “Ishtam”, has come up with a decent performance this time. Dipa Shah, who made her debut in ‘Yudham Sei’, is much improved playing the traditional girl who still values Tamil culture. Oviya’s character is more like an extended cameo and she acted fine. Mano Bala irks the audience with crass comedy and his double act thing falls flat. The supporting cast didn’t create any impact in their space.

Editing is amateurish. Rajesh Yadav’s camera work is one of the positive aspects of the film as he has captured Ooty’s scenic beauty well. Overall, SOS is a promising love story spoiled because of formulaic screenplay and old fashioned execution.

What to do?

‘Sillunu Oru Sandhippu’ is not worth your time and money. Give this one a miss!

in.com rating: 2/5