Kolamaavu Kokila Review: Nayanthara stars in an interesting comedy

Director Nelson’s Kolamaavu Kokila bears a very interesting premise. Kokila (Nayanthara) is the oldest daughter to an ATM security guard and a homemaker, who works as a manager at a massage parlour. Tragedy strikes the already lower-middle-class family when Kokila’s mother is diagnosed with lung cancer, and the treatment for it would cost the family a fortune. In order to save the family, Kokila signs a deal with a drug dealer, who helps a team smuggle drugs. However, trouble looms over the family when she strikes a deal with the devil in disguise.

Now, chances are that you may have figured this out in the trailer of the film. The plot sounds like a recipe for a comedy-suspense capper, which is true to an extent. When you think Kokila is going to get caught, that’s where something unusual happens. What begins with Kokila, changes to how every character in the film is now involved in smuggling the drugs. However, the innovative style of story-telling suffers from pacing issues, which makes the film drag. After a point, it makes you wonder where the film is really headed. The film just goes around beating the bush.

One of the noteworthy scenes in the film is when Kokila and her family plan are trapped at gunpoint, kidnapped, and how they effortlessly escape from the situation. One by one Kokila and her family manage to defend themselves. Although cartoonish, it had a sense of originality to it. Had this been a hero-centric film, we would see the hero bashing up the bad guys in slo-mo, while he saves the heroine or himself from trouble. The film also relies on its women entirely. Be it Kokila’s father (RS Sivaji), who listens to the wife or the inspector (Saravanan), who lets a case go because of his wife – the film puts its women to lead.

Another fine interesting angle to the film is Kokila’s character. The film begins by projecting her as a vulnerable person.  She is first assumed to be someone coy, shy. But layer by layer she reveals a particular trait, where she convinces her toughest enemies to strike a deal with her. I can’t deny how silly and unreasonable it sounds for an enemy to make a deal with someone they just met. But that’s what the film tries to convey right from the beginning – it brings out a comic book style writing to the big screen where the protagonist takes charge. However, it would have been terrific if her opponents were really threats.

What I mean by the comic-book style of writing and execution is the way the film is lead by the characters you would not meet in real life. The situation they endure is unlike any other, where, in the end, the protagonist saves the day. This is also an origin story, of how the character of Kokila became Kolamaavu Kokila. The well-lit frames, the pink-yellow tone the film employs, the dark and dingy settings add value to the film’s theme.

But the derails a bit which makes it seem like a long never-ending affair. I wish the film could have been tighter, and smarter with the way the character truly begins to reveal her cunning ways. After a point, it simply looks like it’s going around circles, by never concluding what the film wants to say. There is no real tension or conflict that would keep you hooked.

Although Saranya, who plays Kokila’s mom does her role well, the feeling of sympathising with her situation is weighed down because she looks healthy all the time. And there isn’t much to admire about other characters as well. Anbu, a YouTube star, does bring in a few genuine laughs. I particularly liked his fast way of saying dialogues. Nayanthara who leads the films should adopt a style of body language that makes her define her role. She seems to give the same expressions and performances of her film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan – wide-eyed throughout the film, trying to convey an innocent look. Also, the costumes she wears in the film particularly didn’t suit her profession of a spa manager. It’s a good thing she decided to dub for herself in the film, that retains a level of authenticity.