Thrillers in tamil cinema seem to fall into two categories. On one hand we have movies like Sabaash which have a clever plot with lots of oppurtunity but dilute the thrills with unwanted elements like comedy, song and dance. Then there are movies that stick to the plot at hand but a slow screenplay and glaring plotholes let the tension ebb. Chinna Chinna Kannile belongs to the latter category. After a good setup with lots of potential, it lets the oppurtunity for a good thriller slip away with its relaxed screenplay and lack of logic.

Rathi(Kushboo), a music video director, is a happy wife and mother of two. But she is unaware that her husband Ravi(Nasser) is in reality a career criminal, carrying out clever crimes with his partner Sabesan(Prakashraj). Ravi finally gets caught after a diamond heist but manages to hide the stones before being hauled off by the police. When he dies, Sabesan is desperate to find the diamonds and enters Kushboo's household as Ravi's friend. He endears himself to Kushboo and her kids while continuing to look for the precious stones.

The movie does get most of the things right initially. It sets up a solid foundation to construct a good thriller upon. It creates a strong character to root for and provides her with a worthy adversary with a cold heart. There is nice suspense(like the scene where the witness sees Nasser in Kushboo's house) and uncertainty regarding the path the story is going to take. There is promise in these scenes of better things to come. The other portions where the movie impresses are the scenes where Kushboo is convinced that marrying Prakashraj would be her best option. This introduces a certain uncertainty into the proceedings apart from increasing her sympathy quotient.

The biggest flaw of the movie has to be the insistence of Prakashraj and 'Thalaivaasal' Vijay that Kushboo knows the location of the diamonds. This leads to several unnecessary scenes of Kushboo being harassed by them. These scenes don't achieve anything other than making Kushboo shed a few tears and display her histrionics. Vijay's character is especially confusing with the viewer being unclear as to where he is really corrupt or acting so to get the truth out. There is also the obligatory 'comedy' track, with Vadivelu and Charlie contesting for Vinodhini's hand, without which the movie would have been better off.

There is not much suspense in the location of the diamonds. The movie also drags unnecessarily after the location is first disclosed. But things really come apart in the climax. The movie suddenly jumps from the city to a river and a waterfall. And the proceedings don't do justice to the danger inherent in the location either. There is no suspense or tension inspite of Kushboo's children being involved and Prakashraj's overacting doesn't help.

Kushboo comes up with a good performance and rightfully earns our sympathy. She is perfect as both the confused widow who is not sure about her husband's innocence and the concerned mother looking to make life better for her kids. Prakashraj has played the role of the cold-blooded killer enough times to breeze through comfortably. Nasser is wasted. Songs are tolerable with the title song and sequence(reminding one of the famous title sequences in the James Bond movies) being well-done.