Oh My Kadavule
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ashwath Marimuthu
Written by	Ashwath Marimuthu
Produced by	G. Dilli Babu Ashok Selvan Abinaya Selvam
Starring	Ashok Selvan Ritika Singh Vani Bhojan
Cinematography	Vidhu Ayyanna
Edited by	Boopathi Selvaraj
Music by	Leon James
Production companies	Axess Film Factory Happy High Pictures
Distributed by	Sakthi Film Factory
Release date	14 February 2020 (2020-02-14)
Running time	153 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Oh My Kadavule (transl. Oh My God) is a 2020 Indian Tamil language romantic fantasy comedy film written and directed by Ashwath Marimuthu in his directorial debut. The film stars Ashok Selvan, Ritika Singh and Vani Bhojan as the leads while Shah Ra and M. S. Bhaskar play supporting roles. Vijay Sethupathi and Ramesh Thilak make extended cameo appearances. The film had its theatrical release on 14 February 2020, Valentine's Day. Oh My Kadavule was selected for official screening at the International Indian Film Festival in Toronto, held in August 2020.^[2] It was remade in Kannada as Lucky Man (2022) and in Telugu as Ori Devuda (2022), with Ashwath directing the latter.

Plot

Anu, Arjun, and Mani have been inseparable friends since childhood. One day, Anu informs Arjun that her father has begun searching for a groom for her, and she asks Arjun if he would be willing to marry her instead. After a quiet drive home, Arjun agrees to her proposal, simply because he cannot think of a single reason to refuse.

However, within just one year of marriage, the couple finds themselves in family court seeking a divorce. While Mani desperately tries to convince Arjun to reconsider, Arjun remains completely firm in his decision. Before the hearing, a mysterious stranger approaches Arjun, predicting a precise sequence of events that will occur over the next 20 minutes, asserting that Arjun will not get his divorce today. Arjun scoffs at the prediction but is left stunned when every single event occurs exactly as foretold. Just as Anu is about to give her formal consent to the judge, she faints and is rushed to the hospital, forcing the court to postpone the proceedings until the evening.

Intrigued and unsettled, Arjun visits the address on the stranger's business card: an establishment called "Love Court." There, he meets the stranger and his eccentric boss. The boss claims he has the power to secure Arjun’s divorce, but first demands to know the exact reasons behind the marital breakdown. Arjun obliges, recounting the events of the past year in flashback.

Following their wedding, Arjun had joined his father-in-law's ceramics manufacturing company. He struggled to transition from being Anu's friend to being her husband, treating her with platonic detachment while she yearned for genuine romance. Arjun also deeply resented his job. When his high school friend, Meera, visited the office seeking permission to use the factory for a movie shoot, Arjun impulsively agreed without consulting Anu or her father. This sparked a massive argument with Anu, further souring their marriage. Later, Arjun confessed his secret dream of acting to Meera, who secured him an audition with the director she was assisting. When a grateful Arjun comforted a vulnerable Meera with a friendly hug, a suspicious Anu witnessed them and assumed they were having an affair. In the ensuing explosive confrontation, Arjun insulted Anu's father's business as "manufacturing mere toilets" and demanded a divorce.

Upon hearing this story, the boss of the Love Court reveals himself to be God. He decides to grant Arjun a second chance at life, handing him a magical "Golden Ticket" that resets his timeline to the day of Anu's proposal, on one condition: if Arjun reveals the existence of the ticket to anyone, he will immediately die.

Arjun restarts his life at the critical juncture, this time rejecting Anu's proposal. Free of marital obligations, he passionately pursues acting and begins dating Meera, helping her navigate her personal and professional choices. Meanwhile, Anu accepts her father's choice and agrees to marry a man named Matthew. During this timeline, Arjun discovers that his former father-in-law actually runs the ceramics company with the noble, charitable mission of building free toilets in his impoverished native village. Deeply remorseful for his past insults, Arjun’s perspective begins to shift.

Needing to profess his love to Meera, Arjun plans a special video project featuring interviews with her favorite people, most of whom reside in Kerala. Despite her wedding being only a week away, Anu volunteers to join him on a motorcycle road trip to Kerala to compile the footage. Throughout the journey, Arjun undergoes a profound realization: he is actually in love with Anu, not Meera. While in Kerala, they also cross paths with Krishna, Meera's ex-boyfriend, and Arjun realizes that Meera and Krishna still harbor deep feelings for each other.

Upon returning, Arjun facilitates a heartfelt reunion and reconciliation between Meera and Krishna. However, he is left heartbroken on the day of Anu's wedding, watching her stand at the altar with Matthew. To his shock, Anu calls off the wedding at the last moment. Later, the three childhood friends gather at their favorite pub, where Anu confesses to Arjun that she could feel his unspoken love for her during their trip. Overwhelmed with emotion, Arjun confesses the entire truth: that they were married in an alternate timeline, that they spiraled toward divorce, and that he had deeply hurt her. By speaking these words, Arjun violates the strict condition of the Golden Ticket and is instantly killed in a road accident.

Arjun wakes up back in the Love Court, desperately pleading with God for one final opportunity. God explains that while Arjun is technically dead in the alternate timeline, he can still return to his original, real-world timeline to rectify his mistakes. Arjun is sent back to the family court on the evening of the delayed divorce hearing. Stepping forward, he sincerely apologizes to Anu, confesses his deep love for her, and the couple happily reunites.

Cast

Production

The film is Ashwath Marimuthu's directorial debut.^[3] Vani Bhojan made her feature film acting debut through this project while Vijay Sethupathi was signed to play a cameo role.^[4] Filming wrapped in November 2019.^[5] In February 2020, Gautham Vasudev Menon was announced to be portraying a cameo role as himself.^[6] During the same month, the Telugu remake rights were acquired by PVP Cinema.^[7]

Themes and influences

The plot aspect of what would happen if Arjun rejected Anu and showing two different outcomes of the same scenario was compared by several critics to It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Sliding Doors (1998) and its Indian remake 12B (2001).^{[8][9][10][11]}

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Leon James, with the lyrics for the songs were written by Ko Sesha. The audio rights were secured by Sony Music India. The first single "Friendship Anthem" was released on 8 November 2019. The lyric video of the song features 1,000 photos of common people with their gang, accommodated in the song.^[12] In an interview with The Times of India, Ashwath Marimuthu shared his hope that the song would become popular as a friendship-themed song like "Mustafa" from Kadhal Desam (1996).^[13] The second single "Haiyo Haiyo" was released on 22 November 2019.^[14] The third single "Kadhaippoma" was released on 3 January 2020.^[15] The fourth single "Ennada Life Idhu" was released on 29 January 2020.^[16] The remaining two songs, were released along with the complete soundtrack album on 7 February 2020.^[17]

Sruthi Raman from The Times of India gave a positive review for the album, in which "Kadhaipoma" as a perfect meet-cute song, in which Sid Sriram injects his characteristic charm in the song, which brims with beautiful acoustics. Reviewing for "Friendship Anthem", Raman stated "the song paints a nice picture of a long-standing friendship. The crisp song is rendered by Anirudh with peppy notes. Also tracing the friendship along with Anirudh in the song are Leon and MM Manasi." For "Ennada Life Idhu", Raman stated the song as a bright number by Santhosh Narayanan and Leon, ruing the complexities of life. Raman also stated "Kadhal Kozhappudhey begins with sharp tunes of jazz and goes on to shine in Sanjeev T's voice, which stands out with its conversational lyrics." She also reviewed about Haiyo Haiyo song in which Leon's voice sounds crisper in its remastered version.^[18]

Background score

The original background score of the film was released on 26 February 2020. It features 30 original compositions from the film with two additional songs.^{[citation needed]}

Release

Oh My Kadavule was released on 14 February 2020, Valentine's Day.^[19] Prior to release, it received a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification after Ashwath refused to cut what he felt was "the most important shot in the film".^[20] The film's Tamil Nadu distribution rights were bought by Sakthi Film Factory.^[21] The film began streaming on ZEE5 from 24 April 2020.^[22]

Critical reception

Srivatsan S of The Hindu wrote, "Oh My Kadavule (OMK) functions primarily on the romantic troupes; impulsive decisions, emotional meltdown, bad breakup followed by a road-trip in search of long lost soul. But where the movie becomes slightly better than ones with pretentious intentions is the quality to discount its own mishaps".^[11] M Suganth of The Times of India gave a rating of 3.5 out of 5, stating "Despite some conventional turns, Oh My Kadavule is a refreshing romance."^[10]

Janani K of India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "Director Ashwath Marimuthu's debut film Oh My Kadavule is an endearing romantic comedy that gives treats its characters with utmost respect."^[23] S Subhakeerthana of The Indian Express gave 3 out of 5 stars to the film stating it "largely works because of the fantasy spin and the fun treatment to the subject matter—but the writing is problematic."^[24] Sify gave 3.5/5 to the film stating, "Though the treatment is breezy, Ashwath Marimuthu establishes an emotional bond with the audiences, all of us can relate to the proceedings and that's the biggest strength of the film"^[25]

Remakes

The film was remade in Kannada as Lucky Man by Nagendra Prasad and in Telugu as Ori Devuda by Ashwath, both released in 2022.^[26][27]

References

External links

• Oh My Kadavule at IMDb 
• Oh My Kadavule at Rotten Tomatoes