Remo movie review: A complete mismatch of tongue-in-cheek and subject matter

Mumbai: 'Remo', a supposed rom-com piece of cinema, turns out to be a marketing effort that targets young males with very stereotypical behaviors that are generally found in other films. The sort of young desperado who comes across a woman and decides that she is his fit and henceforth determines to pursue her wherever she goes. And, this despite the woman not reciprocating the said approaches. There’s another word reserved for such conduct: stalking, or perhaps, harassment. This in short is a Bakkiyaraj Kannan’s 'Remo' feel like: a complete mismatch of tongue-in-cheek and subject matter.

Starring Sivakarthikeyan, 'Remo' features SK (Siva) - an high school dropout who pursues a career in acting. A bit lost and directionless in his life, SK comes across Kavya (Keerthy Suresh) and is smitten by her. She knows nothing about him and he continues to follow her without much of an introduction to boot. With a side-gig of becoming a nurse, SK thus turns into Remo and attempts to ground himself by giving his machismo ego a big hit. Still a number of roadblocks exist before even a first date is scored, and this pathway is filled with witticisms that barely hit the mark.

The fault can’t all be blamed on Sivakarthikeyan though.  With his striking screen presence, he has given his best performance to a script, which lacks conviction and logic. It’s as though the boy who had grown up being a loser and forever alone had to loose his dignity and act like a predator in his adult life. Kudos to the make-up artists (Weta) for Sivakarthikeyan’s flawless female look!  Saranya Ponvannan plays SK’s mom and although she could play these kinds of roles without any preparation, the script once again makes her look sympathetic to a tactless cause. Like when her son burns an effigy of a nurse cause’ the alternate identify had failed him. So all that ‘dignity’ of being a nurse was just a pretense.

Clearly, a lot of thought has gone into the film. Just look at the star-studded technical crew: PC Sreeram handling the cameras, Resul Pookutty in charge of the sounds and Anirudh churning out the catchy tunes. Keethy Suresh as the woman of the hour has been given a meaty role and with her cute looks and expressions, she delivers. KS Ravikumar appears himself in a cameo. Comedy by Satish and Yogi Babu work most part of it. Strictly for Sivakarthikeyan’s fans!