Kuiko

Kuiko Movie Synopsis: A small-towner who wants to watch a IPL match ends up in a remote hillside village that's waiting for the return of a man from abroad to perform the last rites of his mother.

Kuiko Movie Review: There are plot-driven films and characater-driven ones, but Kuiko comes across as neither. The film is more of a slice-of-life dramedy where the setting dictates the progress of the story.

When the film begins, we see Thangaraj (Vidaarth) getting removed from his job as a teacher. But this isn't done in a dramatic manner but in a matter-of-fact way. Following a conversation with his neighbour, he decides to catch the IPL live at Chepauk. But for that, he needs money and approaches his uncle Panbazhagan (Muthukumar , a good-hearted money lender.

However, Thangaraj ends up taking the responsibility of moving an ice box to a remote village on a hill, where an old lady has passed away. And he will have to stay on until the dead woman's son, Malayappan (Yogi Babu) - who is working in Saudi Arabia as the caretaker of the sultan's camels - returns.

Unlike most films, this one isn't too bothered about what comes next. Instead, director Arul Chezhian (who co-wrote Aandavan Kattalai) immerses us into its world, which is populated by people who are naive and ordinary. This approach to similar to what many Malayalam films are doing nowadays. However, both the writing and filmmaking does reach their standards.

That said, this is a film that offers numerous small pleasures. We have quirky characters, humour that makes us break into a smile and performances that feel rooted enough for us to care for the characters. There's even a romantic song set to a a Tamil version of the title track of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai!

Both Vidaarth and Yogi Babu appear more as one of the characters in this universe rather than as protagonists. Ilavarasu gets a solid role, which he makes the most of. And even if the lack of a storyline starts feeling like a drawback in the latter portions, when we begin to wonder where the story is headed to, the film manages to keep us engaged thanks to its unique characters.