Though we go in without high expectations, in many ways, Sindhaamal Sidharaamal turns out to be a pleasant surprise. The movie is decent and clean and the songs are pleasant. When the hero goes to college, there are scenes actually set in a classroom and there are none of the activities usually associated with colleges in Tamil cinema (Jai was the latest example of what I am referring to). There is no separate comedy track or artificially inserted stunt sequences and the director has clearly relied upon the story and trusted his skill rather that such extraneous fillers. A faster pace and better handling of the second half would have made this more than an average entertainer.

Saravanan(Abbas), an aspiring painter, wishes to enroll in the arts college in Chennai while his father(Rajesh) wants him to follow in the footsteps of his brother and his brother-in-law(Ilavarasu) and manage their grocery store. Saravanan eventually convinces his father and joins the college. Rasya(Sona), one of his classmates, wants to be more than a friend but Saravanan tells her about his romance with Janaki(Nandhita) back in the village. But when he returns to the village during a break, he is forced to choose between his love and his dream i.e. between marrying Janaki and continuing his study to become a painter.

It is refreshing to have a hero who has a purpose in life (a side benefit is that we are spared a cheap introductory group song on the streets!). So the conversations between Abbas and Rajesh are two-sided and have some good points on both sides rather than being the usual one-sided slew of scoldings from father to his good-for-nothing son. But the scene stealer during these scenes involving the family is undoubtedly Ilavarasu. He has several funny lines enhanced by his dialog delivery.

The romance between Abbas and Nandhita has its share of sweetness. Abbas' talents as a painter have been made use of at several places. But the director's inexperience also shows through in some scenes (like the sequence where Abbas waits for a smile from Nandhita) which could have been handled much better. Sona's feelings for Abbas do not have a similar strong foundation. But their friendship fares much better.

The story doesn't always proceed as we expect inspite of having familiar elements in place. For instance, the initial set up leads us to believe that the social position of Abbas and Nandhita would lead to opposition to their wedding. But this doesn't turn out to be an issue and instead, the movie brings in a nice conflict. This kind of small but unexpected developments exist throughout and keep our interest from flagging.

Abbas is adequate but the role doesn't demand much of him anyways. Nandhita, the Eera Nilam heroine hasn't improved her acting skills much since her non-performance in that movie. But Sona, who was seen in Thathi Thaavudhu Manasu has shown an improvement and seems quite comfortable here. Rajesh, who seems to be taking over the father role usually played by Vijayakumar, is pretty good. Bharani's songs are pleasing to the ears.