Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai Movie Review: Real reactions make this basic family drama effective
Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai Movie Review: Critics Rating: 3.5 stars, click to give your rating/review,Kaadhal Enbathu Podhu Udamai keeps it real and relatable. Sometimes, that’s all a film needs to do.
Critic's Rating: 3.5/5
Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai Movie Synopsis: A young woman is in love with another woman. Her parents get a shock when this is revealed, and are unable to accept that same-sex relationships are even plausible. The story tracks their journey from outright rejection to denial to conditions to possible acceptance, while following the couple’s struggle through the fallout.
Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai Movie Review: A drama about how a large part of our society reacts when one reveals that they are attracted to the same sex. Kaadhal Enbathu Podhu Udamai isn’t exactly a culture shock. Afterall, we are in 2025 and most people have been exposed to media where LGBTQ+ stuff is featured prominently. But it is an effective film as its treatment and simplicity will resonate with the target audience. Director Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan revisits a fundamental truth: decades of media attention hasn’t erased the strong, often negative reactions people still have to the revelation of someone being gay or lesbian.
Lakshmi (Rohini) is excited to meet her daughter Sam’s (Lijomol Jose) love interest. She invites her ex-husband Devaraj (Vineeth), who had separated from the family when Sam was very young, for lunch, not knowing what’s coming. When Sam’s friend Ravindra (Kalesh Ramanand) shows up with a woman named Nandhini (Anusha Prabhu), everyone assumes Ravindra is the one Sam wants to marry. But Sam reveals she’s in love with Nandhini instead, leaving her mother shocked and angry. Lakshmi tells Nandhini to leave right away, which leads to their first breakup. We see through flashbacks how Sam and Nandhini fell in love after meeting by chance when Sam needed a ride. Now, Sam must handle not only her mother’s rejection but also her long-absent father Devaraj’s sudden reappearance and his firm belief that her sexuality can be “fixed”. The family drama unfolds as Sam tries to stay true to herself and her feelings for Nandhini, while her parents struggle between their love for their daughter, their deep-rooted beliefs, and their own traumas
While watching this film, you will definitely identify with one character or another. We’re presented with a spectrum: the parents in deep denial, the couple who know about their sexuality, the friend who is understanding of the relationship, and the nosy house maid Mary (Deepa Shankar) who sees Sam like her own daughter. The film moves at a gentle pace, letting the conversations hang awkwardly to resolve themselves. It is a character study more of the others than the couple themselves. Like Lakshmi refuses to move past her shock - her emotions have taken over her reasoning. Dad is the definition of cope, with apparent answers to everything. Ravindra, when asked whether he’s gay, immediately has a visceral reaction to it. The point about how women understand each other better is well fleshed out.
Some things don’t exactly work. The reasons why mom and dad are divorced feel flimsy. Also, even if they’re divorced, why’s dad absent throughout Sam’s upbringing, yet now has strong feelings for her? The maid has a bit too much to say. And at its core, the movie’s strength is also its weakness: it’s a bit basic.
Lijomol Jose anchors the film with a beautifully restrained performance as Sam. Rohini excels as Lakshmi, portraying a mother’s conflict between societal conditioning and maternal love with subtlety. Vineeth is believable as the staunch Devaraj. Anusha Prabhu brings warmth to Nandhini, while Kalesh Ramanand interjects situational comedy.
Kaadhal Enbathu Podhu Udamai keeps it real and relatable. Sometimes, that’s all a film needs to do.
Written By: Abhinav Subramanian
Kaadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai Movie Review: A drama about how a large part of our society reacts when one reveals that they are attracted to the same sex. Kaadhal Enbathu Podhu Udamai isn’t exactly a culture shock. Afterall, we are in 2025 and most people have been exposed to media where LGBTQ+ stuff is featured prominently. But it is an effective film as its treatment and simplicity will resonate with the target audience. Director Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan revisits a fundamental truth: decades of media attention hasn’t erased the strong, often negative reactions people still have to the revelation of someone being gay or lesbian.
Lakshmi (Rohini) is excited to meet her daughter Sam’s (Lijomol Jose) love interest. She invites her ex-husband Devaraj (Vineeth), who had separated from the family when Sam was very young, for lunch, not knowing what’s coming. When Sam’s friend Ravindra (Kalesh Ramanand) shows up with a woman named Nandhini (Anusha Prabhu), everyone assumes Ravindra is the one Sam wants to marry. But Sam reveals she’s in love with Nandhini instead, leaving her mother shocked and angry. Lakshmi tells Nandhini to leave right away, which leads to their first breakup. We see through flashbacks how Sam and Nandhini fell in love after meeting by chance when Sam needed a ride. Now, Sam must handle not only her mother’s rejection but also her long-absent father Devaraj’s sudden reappearance and his firm belief that her sexuality can be “fixed”. The family drama unfolds as Sam tries to stay true to herself and her feelings for Nandhini, while her parents struggle between their love for their daughter, their deep-rooted beliefs, and their own traumas
While watching this film, you will definitely identify with one character or another. We’re presented with a spectrum: the parents in deep denial, the couple who know about their sexuality, the friend who is understanding of the relationship, and the nosy house maid Mary (Deepa Shankar) who sees Sam like her own daughter. The film moves at a gentle pace, letting the conversations hang awkwardly to resolve themselves. It is a character study more of the others than the couple themselves. Like Lakshmi refuses to move past her shock - her emotions have taken over her reasoning. Dad is the definition of cope, with apparent answers to everything. Ravindra, when asked whether he’s gay, immediately has a visceral reaction to it. The point about how women understand each other better is well fleshed out.
Some things don’t exactly work. The reasons why mom and dad are divorced feel flimsy. Also, even if they’re divorced, why’s dad absent throughout Sam’s upbringing, yet now has strong feelings for her? The maid has a bit too much to say. And at its core, the movie’s strength is also its weakness: it’s a bit basic.
Lijomol Jose anchors the film with a beautifully restrained performance as Sam. Rohini excels as Lakshmi, portraying a mother’s conflict between societal conditioning and maternal love with subtlety. Vineeth is believable as the staunch Devaraj. Anusha Prabhu brings warmth to Nandhini, while Kalesh Ramanand interjects situational comedy.
Kaadhal Enbathu Podhu Udamai keeps it real and relatable. Sometimes, that’s all a film needs to do.
Written By: Abhinav Subramanian
