Love Today review: A joyride that entertains till it lasts

Director: Pradeep Ranganathan

Cast: Pradeep Ranganathan, Ivana, Sathyaraj, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Yogi Babu

Music director: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Synopsis: A challenge is posed before a couple if they can love the same way if they get to know each other 'better'.

CHENNAI: A love story with no cliched proposal scenes and the how-i-met-her song makes Love Today instantly likeable and maintains it till the finish line, nevertheless, with a few bumps.

The movie opens with a subtext and doesn't waste our time in introducing us to the couple Uthaman Pradeep and Nikitha Sastri (Pradeep Ranganathan and Ivana respectively). The director plays it well by delegating Sathyaraj and Raadhika Sarathkumar, an equal responsibility in shouldering the screenplay before getting to the core plot, wisely minimising sweet-nothings of a typical Tamil cinema couple.

Pradeep makes a passable acting debut and has also made a safe choice of playing a lead role that isn't necessitated to deliver scenes individually. First half of the movie is a laugh riot serving as an example of wise casting choices. From Sathyaraj (With shades of Virumandi Sandhanam from Nanban), Raadhika Sarathkumar as a typical 'loosu amma' to even the minor characters, not a chance to tickle ribs is off target. Shifting focus back and forth from lead characters to supporting characters is the biggest positive of Love Today.

Things get shaky when the narrative veers from humour to seriousness. Just before ennui sets in, jokes make a re-entry and emotional scenes start working. Two major emotional scenes and reveal of the subtext makes the usual 're-uniting' scene pleasant, ensuring a smooth finish.

Apart from stellar performances of Raadhika and Sathyaraj, Yogi Babu comes as a surprise package as his track was crucial in getting the second half back on track. Emphasis on trust issues in the plot saves Ivana from being relegated to an eye-candy, her dubbing does the additional help.

This light-hearted film organically hits out at body shaming and looks shaming. It also sends a loud message by carefully avoiding stalking (if online stalking is not counted) scenes and the heroine-cursing 'sarakku song'.

Yuvan Shankar Raja shockingly disappoints with the songs, the score too isn't as remarkable as the standards he set. We stop short of calling Pacha Elai a relief for its poor placement. Edit department has done a noteworthy job through novelty shown in cuts and in fusing the virtual world with reality.

'Love Today' is unique for its light treatment while not getting restricted to being called a 'timepass' film. With a screenplay copious with love, emotions and humour, the movie is salvaged by one aspect when the other is about to plateau. This quality in the writing makes the movie a perfect weekend outing.