Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam (NEEK) Film Review

Dhanush’s third directorial, Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam has the tagline “A usual love story preparing the viewer for a love story that does not stray far from the stock formula for love stories. However, knowing Dhanush’s penchant for details in his directorials, one would expect more than a clichéd love story.

Not only does Dhanush meet (or surpass) these expectations, he also demonstrates through this movie that he is equally comfortable with the genre of young romance as he was with his themes in Pa Paandi and Raayan.

Dhanush cast his nephew, Pavish Narayan in the lead role opposite former child star Anikha Surendran. Malayalee actor Mathew Thomas, who made his debut to the Tamil screen in Vijay’s Leo, plays a pivotal role while another Malayalee actress – Priya Prakash Varrier – makes her debut to the Tamil screen as Preethi. R Sarathkumar makes an extended guest appearance and the rest of the cast includes Adukallam Naren, Saranya Ponvannan, Venkatesh Menon, Rabiya Khatoon, Ramya Ranganathan, Sidhartha Shankar and Anbu Thasan. There are also special guest appearances by the film’s music composer, GV Prakash Kumar and Doctor-fame Priyanka Mohan.

After a year of estrangement from his lover, Prabhu (Pavish Narayan) finally gives in to the coaxing and hounding by his parents (Adukallam Naren and Saranya Ponvannan) to get married. The decision begins a whacky, deeply moving and often hilarious journey of confronting one’s own feelings and dealing with the pain of a relationship that went wrong.

As indicated by the film’s tagline, there is nothing earth-shattering in the story, nor it a film that is impossible to predict but there are some factors that turn a very ordinary story into enthralling entertainment.

Firstly, the lively and well-crafted script ensures a high degree of involvement by the audience. The wit and organic humour sugar-coat the bitterness of a failed romance while handling the emotive content with the required seriousness.

This is further bolstered by very strong and well-developed characterisation – which extends to all the major characters. The characters remain consistent and the character rounding is credibly handled.

To complete the effect, Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam has some outstanding acting performances from every member of its main cast. Pavish Narayan as Prabhu has perfected the art of emoting through eyes in his first lead role and only his second film appearance. Anikha Surendran is in scintillating form, having extended her acting skills since her days as a child artist. The most lingering performance of the film comes from Mathew Thomas whose portrayal of Prabhu’s friend, Ramesh must rank as the best performance by a supporting actor in a very long time.

Leon Britto’s cinematography has some stunningly creative shots, showing equal dexterity in outdoor and indoor shots. This is certainly one of the film’s major highlights.

GV Prakash Kumar, who composed the music for this film without taking a fee, has impressive songs but his background score does not match the excellence of the songs.

It is difficult to understand why this film did not perform better at the box-office as it has all the ingredients of a perfectly crafted entertainer. Dhanush has extracted the best from the actors as well as his technicians, and one sincerely hopes that the lukewarm reception from the audiences and critics do not deter him from further directorial ventures.

Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam [NEEK] is a delightful, heartwarming,moving and often hilarious romance that deserves more than a single viewing.

Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam scores 9 points out of 10.