★ 9 / 10
Kushi - 9/10. Time really does fly doesn't
Birithivy Y
Kushi - 9/10. Time really does fly doesn't it? 20 years ago, we saw one of the best romcoms come out in tamil cinema. A super fresh, youthful, original…
Kushi - 9/10. Time really does fly doesn't it? 20 years ago, we saw one of the best romcoms come out in tamil cinema. A super fresh, youthful, original, heightened dramedy. S.J. Surya followed up his spectacular debut film (the psychological thriller Vaali) with a total opposite film in feel. Kushi is a romantic comedy drama which focuses on fate and egos. Surya was a director who helped showcase how egos could hinder what the heart wants. Its a storyline which has been done to an unthinkable amount of rehashes, but Kushi had this unique spark towards its story. First of all, Surya does things in an interesting way. He avoids jumping to character worship introductions. In fact, in a unique development, especially for tamil cinema, he doesn't introduce the main leads till quite a bit of character explanation in the beginning. Also, he does somethings a lot of directors don't usually do: he introduces Jyothika first and then Vijay. Both the leads got equal and ample scenes to showcase their talents. Both characters are surprisingly realistic in their stubborn egos. Their pettiness towards each other is hilarious, but hilariously relatable. Vijay and Jyothika both act with a lot of energy in this movie, and it helps make the proceedings so fun to watch. They both act with a good amount of energetic kick towards their performances, with hints of the kind of acting that would later make them household names. Though the film has dramatic moments, it feels super light and never delves too much in melodrama. Its a shame that SJ Surya never had the passion to continue as a director, as he had an interesting presentation style. Though this film is 20 years old, it doesn't feel outdated at all. The cinematography by the late Jeeva is bright and cheerful, and the music done by Deva is still super catchy. There's been so many movies with similar plots since this film, but none have captured that feeling that this film gave in terms of presentation. Certainly a trendsetter for this genre in tamil cinema, and hopefully, we see Surya decide to give direction another go and give films like this again.
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