Hi Review: Charming But Predictable

Hi is a charming, feel-good romcom powered by Nayanthara and Kavin's chemistry, but its predictable second half keeps it from becoming truly delightful, notes Sreeju Sudhakaran.

IMAGE: Kavin and Nayanthara in Hi.

Key Points Nayanthara and Kavin's charming chemistry is the biggest strength of Hi, particularly during its warm and engaging first half.

Vishnu Edavan finds plenty of humour and tenderness in everyday interactions, but several subplots drag the narrative down.

The predictable second half, especially Devayani's underwritten character arc, stops Hi from rising above being a decent feel-good entertainer.

My favourite scene in Tamil cinema's newest romcom, Hi, is when, after the heroine stops the hero from committing suicide, they have a heart-to-heart conversation.

He then requests her to give him some space so that he can cry. Because men do not cry, right?

The girl casually asks him why crying needs to be gender-specific, telling him he can bawl all he wants in front of her. And he does so immediately.

The cuteness of the scene aside, while I know there are a few films that pierce through the fake alpha masculinity of men, it is still refreshing to see it reiterated that it is perfectly okay for the male gender to be in touch with their feelings. That mard ko bhi dard hota hai...

That said, while Hi definitely boasts a few lovely, likeable moments like this and Nayanthara and Kavin are adorable in the lead roles, the freshness of its presentation does not completely spread across a highly predictable screenplay.

The Story Of Two Runaways

Mayilsamy (Kavin) and Devayani (Nayanthara) have both run away from their respective homes, albeit separately and for entirely different reasons.

Mayil has been facing rejections from the opposite sex since childhood and considers himself fundamentally unlucky in love.

When his parents coerce him into an arranged marriage, believing he cannot land a girl on his own, Mayil runs away, determined to only marry someone who chooses him of her own free will.

Devayani, meanwhile, is being forced by her relatives to marry an abusive man against her wishes, which becomes her cue to flee her village. As fate would have it, both end up in Chennai, living in the same building.

They quickly become good friends despite their different natures, and predictably, Mayil falls hard for her. However, since Devayani does not see him the same way, he keeps his feelings entirely to himself.

But when their families simultaneously track them down in the city, they are forced to act like a couple in love just to avoid toeing their folks' lines.

Breezy First Half

Hi marks the directorial debut of lyricist Vishnu Edavan (who has also written the screenplay), and therefore one thing is guaranteed: The music is pretty good. Composer Jen Martin belts out a couple of charming numbers like Rasagulla (I also loved its choreography) and Kannakuzhiya.

This charm extends to Vishnu's confident treatment, Rajesh Shukla's pleasing frames and somewhat to the screenplay, which delights in parts but fails to overwhelm you with that same delightfulness as a whole.

In terms of its narrative, where Hi shines best is in how it establishes the bonhomie between the lead pair. It is incredibly endearing to watch, particularly throughout the first half. The light-hearted direction and some hilarious quips elevates these scenes nicely, helped immensely by Nayanthara and Kavin's spunky chemistry.

Not all portions work, though. The brothel sequence, for example, feels stretched far longer than necessary. It ultimately comes across as a forced inclusion just to set up a dramatic turn later on.

Devayani's job track, where she works as a caretaker for a rich man's mentally unstable mother, is used like a Sword of Damocles over the main plot, serving as a possible reason their love story might never happen. But the rich man, his mother, and his son are never mentioned or shown again.

And then there are moments that truly work, making you genuinely feel for the characters.

Take the night stroll sequence where Mayil stops himself from confessing his feelings to Devayani. The scene may have no novelty, but what makes it sing is the bittersweet presentation and the lead performances.

Takes A Very Predictable Turn

The interval point arrives when their respective families finally catch up with them, and Mayil spins a lie (with selfish motives). That single scene not only paves the way for more family chaos in the romantic track, but it also lets you immediately see exactly where the film is heading and how it will all end.

Not that the second half is too disappointing. The humour works in parts, like Mayil using old movie plots to concoct a fake love story for himself (though the self-referential meta jokes could have been toned down).

The veteran stars, including the late K Bhagyaraj, Radikaa Sarathkumar and Prabhu (with another veteran actress making a later cameo), are lovely in their roles.

The consistently feel-good treatment keeps things highly watchable. And Kavin is quite in a rollicking form here as well.

At the same time, the freshness that drove the friendship between the lead pair in the first half is almost entirely diluted in the second.

As Mayil and Devayani keep tricking their families with a fake romance and a fake pregnancy, the course is firmly set for expectant moral awakenings, heavy family drama, a few obligatory slaps, and a couple of melodramatic reunions.

Hi does not disappoint in delivering those tropes at all. Honestly, this is exactly where the film should have disappointed us by trying something new.

Particularly frustrating is Nayanthara's character, who feels stagnant in her development, awkwardly constricted within the four walls of her fake boyfriend's mansion. Her entire character resolution is pinned heavily on her missing mother, which also receives a highly predictable conclusion.

Considering she was initially portrayed as a worldly-wise, highly assured woman who was simply afraid of love because of her past, her eventual pivot to giving her feelings a chance desperately needed sturdier writing. I am sure it was initially played for laughs, but believing someone as sharp as Devayani would actually fall for Mayil's blatantly fake love story is not very convincing.

I also wished the film allowed her to take a much stronger stance against her highly judgemental relatives. But in a bid to maintain its breezy, feel-good nature, even that potential conflict is swiftly dismissed in one short moment handed to her father.

Overall, though, Hi is a watchable and enjoyable feel-good entertainer that even concludes with its own little twist on Jerry Maguire's famous line ('You had me at hello'). But much like that borrowed quote, the sheer overfamiliarity of its second half prevents the film from transforming from decent to delightful.

Hi Review Rediff Rating: