Hi Movie Review: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Hi is a harmless, breezy romantic comedy powered by the easy chemistry between Kavin and Nayanthara, along with a solid supporting cast. It never fully explores its more interesting ideas, but remains pleasant company throughout.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Language: Tamil
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Vishnu Edavan
Cast: Kavin, Nayanthara, K Bhagyaraj, Radikaa Sarathkumar, Prabhu
Romantic comedies have a certain timeless charm to them. At their best, they make you smile, tug gently at your heart, and send you out of the theatre feeling just a little lighter than when you walked in.
Getting that balance right is harder than it looks, though, and this week’s Tamil release Hi, directed by Vishnu Edavan, takes its own shot at that magic with a story built around romance, family pressure, and second chances.
The film follows Mayilsamy, known as MS, played by Kavin, a simple, good-hearted man from Coimbatore who has spent most of his life getting rejected by women. With his conservative family constantly pushing him toward marriage, MS decides he would rather fall in love first and marry later, so he runs away from home to make that happen on his own terms.
Around the same time, Devayani, played by Nayanthara, is dealing with a far more serious situation. Her family is trying to marry her off to a misogynistic man in exchange for a large sum of money, and rather than accept that fate, she runs away too, leaving her alcoholic father behind in search of a life she actually gets to choose.
The two eventually cross paths in Chennai, where their friendship slowly begins to turn into something more. What follows is a story about whether two people running from the lives their families planned for them can actually build something real together and whether those very families will ever come around to accepting it.
The film thrives on its comedy of errors setup. To buy time and keep their families from tracking them down, Mayil ends up faking a pregnancy and inventing an elaborate lie involving a fictional lover from Pakistan, a story that only grows messier and funnier as more characters get pulled into the chaos.
At times, Hi feels reminiscent of the kind of Sundar C comedy where one small lie snowballs into complete pandemonium, and for the most part, that chaotic energy works in the film’s favor.
Kavin and Nayanthara make for an appealing on-screen pair, and the film does a nice job letting their contrasting personalities push each other to grow.
When MS’s frustration and unresolved anger toward a woman who once rejected him start to surface, it is Devayani who calls him out, in a scene that handles a genuinely sensitive topic with surprising care given how often stories of rejection turning violent make real headlines.
The supporting cast adds plenty of laughs along the way. K Bhagyaraj, in what is sadly one of his final performances, brings real nostalgia and dry comic timing to his role as Mayil’s father, while Prabhu gets a genuinely sweet, evolving arc as Devayani’s father that ends up being one of the film’s more emotionally satisfying threads.
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Radikaa Sarathkumar, unfortunately, does not get much beyond a fairly familiar, worn-out emotional mother role. Where Hi falls a little short is in how safely it plays things. The film hints at deeper conflicts, particularly around MS’s family dynamics and Devayani’s unresolved relationship with her father, but never fully commits to exploring them.
Some emotional stretches later in the film run a little too long and could easily have been trimmed without losing anything meaningful.
Technically, the film benefits from likeable cinematography and a pleasant, breezy score by Jen Martin, including a genuinely soothing Rasagulla song that fits the film’s easygoing mood well. In the end, Hi works best when it simply embraces its own light, low-stakes nature.
It does not have the emotional depth or consistent laughs to become a standout rom-com, but it also never overstays its welcome. It is an easy, pleasant watch, the kind of film you enjoy in the moment and forget about soon after.