It’s a classic formula: Boy meets girl. Boy acts like a complete
jerk. Girl develops a well-justified strong dislike of boy. Boy has a
chance to demonstrate his true inner nobility, and girl promptly falls
in love with him. Season to taste with evil Aunties, brain tumors, and
other complications. I’m not saying that all, or even most, Indian film
romances fall into the same pattern, but the antagonistic brand of
romance is common enough that a film like Enakku 20 Unakku (2004) makes for quite a refreshing change.
Sridhar (Tarun) is a young college student traveling from Mumbai to his home in Madras. Before boarding the train, he gets his fortune from a convenient weight machine, and is told “You are going to meet someone like you, may be your life partner” (sic). Meanwhile, Preethi (Trisha) is an attractive young woman traveling from Mumbai to her new home in Madras. Before boarding the train, she gets her fortune from a convenient weight machine and is told “You are going to meet someone like you, may be your life partner” (sic). The two are seated across from one another on the train, and it turns out they really are alike; they both love cricket, both have questionable tastes in literature, and they even enjoy the same snacks. (The film hints at the old “stranger on a train stealing your cookies” joke, but doesn’t go through with it.) More importantly, they’re both well bred, virtuous, and shy, so while they are obviously attracted to one another, the trip is over and they are separated before they can exchange phone numbers or even names.
The trip from Mumbai to Madras only lasts for the first fifteen minutes or so of the film, but it’s the heart of the story. Sridhar and Preethi each launch a desperate search for the other, are separated by misunderstanding when they finally meet again, but that’s all detail. if you have ever seen a movie in your life, then you know how his one will end; a freshly thawed caveman would be able to make a pretty good guess. It’s the first fifteen minutes of the film that make you care.
On the train, Preethi and Sridhar barely speak to one another; the relationship is developed almost entirely through gestures and stolen glances. It’s beautifully done, with very subtle and truthful performances by the two leads.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film never quite lives up to the promise of the first fifteen minutes. The plot begins to meander as time goes by, with complications introduced solely in order to keep the lovers separated (and the film going) for a few minutes more, and there’s some silly comedy which really doesn’t relate to anything. Still, it’s not that the film goes from good to bad; it goes from wonderful to really quite nice, and really quite nice is nothing to sneeze at.
Sridhar (Tarun) is a young college student traveling from Mumbai to his home in Madras. Before boarding the train, he gets his fortune from a convenient weight machine, and is told “You are going to meet someone like you, may be your life partner” (sic). Meanwhile, Preethi (Trisha) is an attractive young woman traveling from Mumbai to her new home in Madras. Before boarding the train, she gets her fortune from a convenient weight machine and is told “You are going to meet someone like you, may be your life partner” (sic). The two are seated across from one another on the train, and it turns out they really are alike; they both love cricket, both have questionable tastes in literature, and they even enjoy the same snacks. (The film hints at the old “stranger on a train stealing your cookies” joke, but doesn’t go through with it.) More importantly, they’re both well bred, virtuous, and shy, so while they are obviously attracted to one another, the trip is over and they are separated before they can exchange phone numbers or even names.
The trip from Mumbai to Madras only lasts for the first fifteen minutes or so of the film, but it’s the heart of the story. Sridhar and Preethi each launch a desperate search for the other, are separated by misunderstanding when they finally meet again, but that’s all detail. if you have ever seen a movie in your life, then you know how his one will end; a freshly thawed caveman would be able to make a pretty good guess. It’s the first fifteen minutes of the film that make you care.
On the train, Preethi and Sridhar barely speak to one another; the relationship is developed almost entirely through gestures and stolen glances. It’s beautifully done, with very subtle and truthful performances by the two leads.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film never quite lives up to the promise of the first fifteen minutes. The plot begins to meander as time goes by, with complications introduced solely in order to keep the lovers separated (and the film going) for a few minutes more, and there’s some silly comedy which really doesn’t relate to anything. Still, it’s not that the film goes from good to bad; it goes from wonderful to really quite nice, and really quite nice is nothing to sneeze at.
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