A thrilled Genelia says, ‘ I never knew that I would emote so well, until I worked in ‘Bommarillu’ and ‘Santosh Subramaniyam’. I don’t want to do heroine-centric films. If I have a meaty role, I am ready to grab it’.

Genelia has been assigned to do three films in Hindi. They include a remake of ‘Santosh Subramaniyam’ opposite Harman, a movie with Aamir’s nephew and another directed by Priyadharshan’.

It is a hardcore family subject which can be enjoyed by everyone and is rightly called the ‘feel good’ film. With this film’s success, Raja has retained his reputation as
the director who has a mastery over remake subjects. His earlier victories include, Jeyam, M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi and Unakkum Enakkum.

When talking to the media he says, “Though I have given hits with my earlier remakes, the happiness that Santosh Subramanian has given is incomparable. I have been getting appreciative calls from people belonging to different sections who are very happy with the film”. When discussing heroine Genelia’s character, Raja says that he worked very hard on this as the entire script rested heavily on this. The character of Hasini in the film is an amalgamation of innocence and independence who cannot be kept under control and luckily for him Genelia has fitted the bill perfectly. Raja further added that for hero Ravi, this film would be a milestone in his career

The over-bearing Subramaniam fixes Santhosh’s wedding though our hero’s only desire in life is that he wants to decide his own future and the girl he marries! A frustrated Santhosh bumps into Hasini (Genelia) a vibrant, hyperactive, innocent girl, daughter of a middle class employee of a temple (Sayaji Shinde). They soon fall in love and when Santhosh’s dad comes to know about it, he asks him to bring Hasini to their house and stay for a week.

Hasini comes to live in Santhosh’s house and wins over each and every family member but in a turn of events she leaves his home and how the lovers unite in the end forms the rest of the story. Right away you sympathize with Santhosh the complex relationship that he shares with his father. The love between the lead pair is weaved in a cute manner.

The real magic of this film lies in the performance of Genelia as Hasini. Uninhibited and spontaneous, she is the soul of the film and its biggest strength. We just can’t think that any actress could play Hasini better than Genelia which made the makers cast her in the same role that she did in the original.

Despite the risk of being overshadowed by Genelia, Jayam Ravi has done his best and his hard work shows in screen especially his dance. His mature performance in the climax confrontation scenes with Prakash Raj, where he breaks down and spills all the frustrations that he was carrying over years is touching. Infusing his character with energy and spunk, he delivers the goods. Prakash Raj is simply outstanding and does a neat job

Devi Sri Prasad’s music is another highlight of the film, though all the tunes have been faithfully copied from the Telugu original. Atata atata atata… a melodious romantic number written by Na Muthukumar and sung by Siddharth of Boys fame, who also did the lead role in the Telugu original is the pick of the lot.

Santhosh Subramaniam brings the fun back into movies. It is a triumph of honest screenplay and the film will stay in our hearts for a long, long time. Go for it.