A romantic entertainer is a rarity in Tamil cinema. Those made too much recently were intense drama. To fill the void comes Elred Kumar’s Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal. What begins as a candy-floss love story settles down to a psychological thriller.
When a producer combines the task of direction, obviously he will not bother about the constraints of budget. So is the case with MUK. It has been shot lavishly in a grand scale, suavely shot in exotic locales abroad. But sadly while focusing on such things, the director seems to have lost the grip as the script meanders here and there leaving a sense of deja vu on the audience.
MUK begins in style, promising aplenty. Sadly a sense of lathargy creeps as the narration starts. With many ups and downs, the film ends on a predictable path without much to cherish. The star cast no doubt gives their best. The cinematography by Sakthi is good while G V Prakash has given some peppy music. Yet the mix goes wrong which mars the show.
The storyline sounds much familiar reminding one of films like Kudaikul Mazhai and Mandhira Punnaigai. Elred Kumar has chosen to give it a different colour and succeeds partially.
Ram (Atharva) is an IT engineer in Chennai. He spends all his week-ends with his beau Charu (Amala) in Bangalore. They share aunique bonding.
Now, Lata (Amala) who is the CEO of Ram’s company returns from US. With her marriage set to happen in a couple of weeks, she meets Ram and gets shock of her life.
The twist in the tale begins. A flashback narrates that both Charu and latha are the same and that Ram lives in a world of delusion. Eventually, the romantic story takes the turn of a psychological thriller.
Atharva Murali has matured enough in his very second film. He has shouldered the responsibility of playing a tricky character well. He sings, dances, and even flexes his muscles apart from doing some unbelievable aerobics stunts.
Amala Paul gets character of her life – she can portray two dimensions on screen. She passes the muster. Jayaprakash has played the role that he had done several times in the past. Nasser’s cameo evokes no interest while Santhanam’s comedy is a big letdown and is no patch to his earlier works. Anupama plays a dotting mother.
The sad part is that the details that go missing in the script. The description of software professionals, and the romance between couples in contemporary world are far from reality. Also the events unfold in a hurried manner towards the climax on expected lines. The physiological angle hasn’t been handled well.
Despite the rich visuals and catchy songs, MUK disappoints big time.