#IdliKadai Review

#Idli Kadai 

2025- Tamil

Starring : Dhanush , Rajkiran, Nithya Menen , Sathyaraj, Arun Vijay , Shalini Pandey, Samuthrakani , Ilavarasu and Parthiban

Directed by Dhanush

Plot: Sivanesan runs a small idli shop in Sankarapuram, dreaming his son Murugan will inherit it. But Murugan chases bigger dreams, leaving for the city and later becoming a top chef in a Bangkok five star hotel. On the verge of marrying the owner’s daughter, fate drags him back to his village to take over his father’s eatery. His decision to abandon the marriage enrages the hotel owner and his son, sparking conflicts. How did Murugan overcome the obstacles and how did he hold up his father's legacy forms the rest of the story.

Performance wise , Dhanush as Murugan gives all his heart out and has done a wonderful performance. His calm performance in the Pre Interval scene was beautiful. Nithya Menen gets a meaty role and has done well. Arun Vijay as the Antagonist gets a one note role but he performs well , though his character could've been written better. Sathyaraj in a grey shaded role has done well. But the main show stealer is Rajkiran as the Naive Sivanesan who is just extraordinary even though he only appears for few minutes. His presence is felt throughout the film and that is a great thing. Shalini Pandey tries to act but unfortunately is unintentionally funny at times. Samuthrakani in a Negative role feels forced. Parthiban scores in one scene which got applauses from the audience. Ilavarasu good role.

Technically, the film is very strong . GV Prakash's Songs and BGM are one of the main reason for it. He uplifts many simple scenes with his soulful songs and bgm increasing the impact. Cinematography by Kiran Koushik was good, especially in the Pre Interval dream scene it was fantastic. Editing by Prasanna GK was pretty good , no complaints there.

The film opens with the establishment of Sivanesan and his love for his eatery. The establishment was very soulful that sets up the entire plot. One of the main reason is the innocent yet grounded portrayal of Sivanesan by Rajkiran. Audience could instantly connect with him . Then we are introduced to Murugan played by Dhanush and his bonding with his parents and the shop. Then the film shifts to Bangkok where Murugan works in a Five Star Hotel and we are shown his romantic angle with Meera and his dynamics with her Dad Vishnu Vardhan and her brother Ashwin played by Sathyaraj and Arun Vijay. While the sequences a bit exaggerated they are not dragged . Immediately it is cut and the film moves into the main core plot of Murugan coming back to his village. These sequences work emotionally well. Till the Pre Interval the film runs at a mild pace and towards the Interval, a dream scene catapults the entire film and from there the film actually gets into the core point. The Interval fight felt forced but wasn't like a speed breaker.

Unfortunately, things go down a bit south in the Second half. While there are momnts that work, the second half feels dragged beyond a point. The unnecessary inclusion of a dance song and the climax felt dragged beyond a point. As Antagonist characters are written in one note , there wasn't much to explore with them so beyond a point all the antics of Antagonist felt repetitive. Also the proceedings all felt very predictable without anything new. While I repeat there are some good moments that work in the second half ,as a whole it could've been much better but is marred by cliched execution.

Coming to Writer Director Dhanush , He takes a very simple yet heartfelt storyline and tried to build a film around it and has succeeded partially in that. While the film has some heartfelt moments and some genuinely beautiful dialogues that convey the core point of "Never Forget Your Roots" in a very beautiful manner , the film as a whole deserved a better screenplay. As a Writer Dhanush won, but as a Director Dhanush could've done a little bit better but this is not bad.

Highlights : 

1) Pre Interval Sequence 

2) Parthiban scenes

3) GVP Songs

Overall: Idli Kadai is a beautiful Drama that works largely due to its groundedness and Brilliant perfomances by Dhanush and Rajkiran. Might not work for all due to its Serial type narration at times, but will definitely create wonders in targetted areas like B &C 

Rating : 2.75-3/5

Digital Rights: Netflix 

Television Rights: Kalaignar TV