'Vanakkam Chennai' Review Roundup: Family Entertainer Worth Watching

Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi's directorial debut "Vanakkam Chennai" (Greetings Chennai) has received positive reviews from critics who have termed it as a fun-filled rom-com worth watching.

"Vanakkam Chennai" does not have a great storyline, instead it is a simply love story with great music and good performances.

Ajay (Mirchi Shiva), an educated youth comes to Chennai from his hometown Theni to take up a job. Anjali (Priya Anand), a photographer from London is also in the city to capture the south Indian culture.

They both get cheated by Narayanan (Santhanam), a house agent, who rents out unoccupied houses without the knowledge of the owners. Ajay and Anjali pay the money to Naryanan and end up getting the same house. They both are caught in a situation when they are unable to rent a new house. The duo decides to stay together until they find Narayanan. Initially they fight a lot but later fall in love.

Music is a major plus for the film. The songs, composed by Anirudh, are already chartbusters. Apart from Shiva, Priya Anand and Santhanam, "Vanakkam Chennai" has Rahul Ravindran, Urvashi, Manobala, Nasser, Renuka and Black Pandi in supporting roles.

The film, which was released on 11 October, is likely to face strong competition from another comedy entertainer - "Naiyaandi", starring Dhanush and Nazriya. It remains to be seen which film will emerge as a big winner.

Here is the review roundup of "Vanakkam Chennai"

S Saraswathi of Rediff says, "Vanakkam Chennai is a fun-filled, but slow paced romantic film that does not boast of a great or original storyline. But there is simplicity and charm in the characters. And the great music certainly keeps you entertained."

Prashanth Reddy of Desimartini says, "Anirudh's music is a huge positive and I can't seem to get a few of the background tunes out of my head. Priya Anand looks utterly gorgeous in every frame. But "Vanakkam Chennai" is still just an okay-ish Rom-com that is hard to hate. It is does very little to reinvigorate a stagnant genre. Also, it should have avoided using Santhanam."

According to Behindwoods Review Board, "The first half trots along merrily with Ajay (Shiva) and Anjali (Priya Anand) indulging in one-upmanship that stirs up several laughs and saves the audience the trouble of wondering about the story's progress. But the second half, despite Santhanam's shenanigans, plays out more like a drama. This in turn stretches the movie to a running time of 2 hours and 31 minutes and much like Rosy Aunty, Vanakkam Chennai too takes its own time to say goodbye."

According to IndiaGlitz, "Though a rather predictable story, the knack of this success lies in the way it has been wrapped and presented. As you sit through the movie, it is natural for anyone to forget that Kiruthiga is a debutante director for, she has worked this movie to perfection in every frame."

Verdict:  The family entertainer is worth watching