Enakku Veru Engum Kilaigal Kidayathu (2016)

For the first few minutes after Goundamani makes his appearance in Goundamaniyin Enakku Veru Engum Kilaigal Kidaiyathu, there is a flurry of jokes and punches from the veteran comedian ('En time, timing ellaame top-la dhaan irukku'). And he is in full flow, criticising caste groups and actresses with caste surnames, ridiculing movie titles that are colloquial and a mile long, and showing keenness to project himself as a tech-savvy individual (he keeps mentioning Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in his dialogues). We even get a line where he says he respects 'IT people'. But then, the film gets down to the plot, and the jokes start declining. Goundamani plays Caravan Krishnan, who rents out caravans for film shoots. He is also a saviour for lovers who have eloped from home. Upon his underlings' suggestion, Krishnan decides to go on a trip on his caravan. On the way, he saves Prabha (Soundararaja) and Divya (Riythvika), a couple who are being pursued by goondas sent by the girl's father (Moonar Ramesh). After hearing their love story, he resolves to get them together at all cost. The problem with the film is that the unfocussed script, which doesn't provide its star anything to bite into. And Ganapathy Balamurugan doesn't handle his star in the right way, and fails to marshall his strengths for the enhancement of the film. So, as he did in his previous film, 49-O, Goundamani adopts a 'every line of mine should be a counter' approach, that gives the feeling of trying too hard. The Prabha-Divya romantic track is stretched for long, and during this stretch, Goundamani's absence hurts the film. Further, despite all the build-up over this love affair, the resolution is anti-climactic. There is also needless drama involving Krishnan's wife (Shanoor Sana), who believes in astrology, and dreams that her husband is going to get into trouble. Like the romance, this one is given too much importance, but is resolved in a tame fashion. The one promising element is a sub-plot involving a bunch of comic gangsters who are fans of Bobby Simhaa's Assault Sethu in Jigarthanda and are following Krishnan. One of these gangsters uses a tape to measure the distance between the two vehicles just to stick to the instructions received from men belonging to Divya's father. But such quirks are far and few. Sometimes, a lead actor can do only so much, and Goundamani, for all his attempts at raising a laugh every time he is on screen, cannot overcome the tediousness of the script. In the end, he comes across as a star in search of a better director and script.