KISS Review -  Watchable Romantic Drama That Deserved More!

Ashwin Ram

Writing/ Direction:  The story of a king who hated love is narrated during the title credits in the animated form, while the backstory orated by Vijay Sethupathi is convincing and connects well with the contemporary conflict, the quality of animation was poor. Likewise the content in the film is strong, but there are plenty of issues in its execution. The fantasy element is fresh, it is implemented well in certain parts of the flow, sadly the screenplay is filled with deviations that are overstretched. Plus, the core element is casually handled as if kissing is common in the streets of our state. The main theme is introduced appreciably early, but how the hero deals with it is shown in a monotonous manner. Starting with a needless park fight, he unreasonably attempts and separates a few couples who are in a romantic relationship, then he tries to unite them in the later half as a remedy, after listening to Prabhu’s advice whose character was not-so-necessary in the first place. These portions occupy a lot of screen time, the draggy gym episode, followed by a Remo reloaded cringe scene at the wedding hall. VTV Ganesh tries his level best to bring some sort of momentum to these bizarre portions, but falters because of the weak situations. The combination scenes of Kavin and Preethi Asrani are sensible, although it takes a little while, their chemistry is highlighted ahead of the interval. The drama between them is solid for the most part, except for some silly tropes like the heroine planning to move to a foreign country. There was a superbly-thought dog sequence in the second half, which is the best part of the movie as the writing uplifts the emotional angle here, whatever other compensations the hero does could have been kept as quick moments instead of full-fledged scenes. Rao Ramesh’s subplot makes sense when it is revealed, but stuffing all the sentimental baggage at the end did not create the intended impact, and would have had a positive result with a better placement. Also, the dialogues are amateurish in many instances and the factor kept letting down many potential places in the movie. The fire climax is essential to connect with the little twist in the climax, but the VFX work goes for a toss.

Performances:  Subtle yet a good performance by Kavin, it connects when he cries on-screen with a dramatic backing. His character did not get the deserving fulfillment as his passionate musician track was left out abruptly. Neatly written lead role for Preethi Asrani following her debut in Ayothi, she shines as a dancer here. Plenty of dialogue counters by Mirchi Vijay fell flat, while VTV Ganesh tries to hold the comic front with his presence and he occasionally scores too. Devayani’s performance was too loud, and her makeup was odd. In fact makeup was on the higher side for most women in the movie. Rao Ramesh did well, but he was not utilised to his full potential due to the flaws in his character portrayal.

Technicalities:  Decent songs by Jen Martin, no standouts like the ones in the Dada album, but a fine one. Man has contributed so much with his background score, his utmost efforts to elevate the emotions are evident. Quality was off in Harish Kannan’s cinematography, a romantic subject requires a lot more finesse to deliver a colourful product. Also, the low production value all over the film. Crisper editing was required, this could have easily been made as two hours film by scissoring the unwanted extras, there was scope to do so.

Verdict:  Has an interesting fantasy backdrop linked to the title, that forms a worthy drama between the lead pair. Sadly, the flow lacks focus with plenty of execution issues that dilutes the momentum of its core.

KISS - Watchable Romantic Drama That Deserved More!

Rating - 2.75/ 5.