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A comedy-drama that relies on familiar tropes.
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A comedy-drama that relies on familiar tropes.

Brother movie synopsis: Karthik is a carefree and socially oblivious guy who has simple desires and lives a carefree life. When his actions inadvertently disrupt his older sister Anandhi’s marriage, he must work to restore harmony in the family while navigating his own relationship with Archana.

Brother movie review: Brother is one of those packaged family dramas that stays true to its original intent without overstaying its welcome. From the opening scenes, the tone and pace are clearly established: a clueless law school dropout whose inability to read the room, coupled with his overenthusiasm, is causing him problems. The consequences of their actions remain within the family, while logic takes a back seat for the sake of comedy. The film maintains a colorful tone, helped by a cast of supporting characters who provide their dose of humor and drama. While it doesn’t break new ground, it avoids pushing any agenda and sticks to the simple formula it establishes from the beginning.

Karthik (Jayam Ravi) is a well-meaning but impulsive guy with a deep-rooted obsession with justice that often gets him into trouble. After causing a scene by obtaining a demolition order without consulting the apartment association in Chennai, his exasperated parents send him to Ooty, hoping that his sister Anandhi (Bhumika Chawla) can control him. However, Anandhi underestimates Karthik’s reckless tendencies. At home with her husband Aravind (Natarajan Subramaniam) and their family, Karthik’s habit of acting before thinking leads to one disaster after another: ruining a family dinner, being fired as a hospital porter and then as a physiotherapy instructor. The breaking point comes when he clashes with Anandhi’s father-in-law (Rao Ramesh), a proud collector with a huge ego, leading to a heated argument that divides the families. Even after such a serious breakup, Karthik remains oblivious until his father disowns him and demands that he repair the damage. Karthik sets out on a journey to mend the fractured family and prove himself, with Archana (Priyanka Mohan) as the mediator.

The comedic elements of Brother are light, more of a laugh. The film offers a mix of familiar commercial ingredients from the comedy, family drama genre: Jayam Ravi’s over-the-top bravado, Keshav’s (VTV Ganesh) goofy antics, some dazzling song-and-dance sequences, perpetually glamorous actresses and fathers (on both sides ) who embody the typical Indian boomer mentality. It seems as if director M. Rajesh has set out to tick a few boxes, for better or worse. The first half is pretty funny, not laugh-out-loud funny, but consistently entertaining. The family drama soon takes center stage and the abrupt changes in characters make it difficult to accept their transformations. Karthik’s reconciliation efforts turn out to be too convenient and melodramatic. The drama becomes too extra with all the crying, screaming, forced emotional scenes and even a drinking attack. Somehow, Karthik’s brain has been completely rewired, but this sudden restraint feels like a betrayal of the impulsive guy we’ve seen so far. Maintaining the pace and eccentricities of the first half could have helped maintain a consistent tone.

Brother is primarily performance driven. Jayam Ravi looks stunning with his typical commanding presence. He brings a variety of emotions (dancing, laughing, fighting, forgetting, self-awareness, and even crying) that make him the backbone of the film. The supporting cast also adds spice – Bhumika plays the concerned but supportive sister, while Priyanka Mohan adds the glamor factor. Nataraj has some energetic moments that suit his style very well. It’s fast and sudden – probably even the actors will be surprised! Rao Ramesh steals the show as the selfish collector. It’s both funny and irritating.

Harris Jayaraj’s Makkamishi has generated some buzz, but the rest of the soundtrack is passable. Brother is funny in places, although the soap opera vibes take away from its appeal.

Written by: Abhinav Subramanian