I mentioned that Dhaam Dhoom appeared to be less than the sum of its parts. Jayam Kondaan, on the other hand, seems to be more than the sum of its parts. It is stocked with rather familiar characters and it puts them in familiar situations. But the tight screenplay ties things together in entertaining fashion and as a result, it is an engaging, even if unexciting, film.

Arjun(Vinay), having had enough of the sacrifices he was forced to make for the sake of his job in London, has returned home with dreams of launching his own business. Planning to use as capital, the money he had sent to his father while in London, he is shocked to find that very little of the money left. Further digging leads him to more shocking news about his father. Arjun travels to Thirumangalam to sell his father's house and get his capital and manages to charm the tenants, a chilli seller and his daughter Poorani(Bhavana), living in the house. But he soon finds out that he has some competition.

The film has a number of story tracks and characters and this makes the two and a half hours go by fast. Many of these characters and the situations they get into may have a familiar feel but the director is able to overcome the nagging feeling with his screenplay. It keeps moving with almost no slow spots and keeps us entertained. At the same time, the movie can't boast of any real high points that could have pushed it up from just a good movie to a great movie. It has romance(Vinay's first meeting with Bhavana is very sweet), comedy(Vivek has his moments as a henpecked husband), emotions(for instance, the point where Lekha realizes what Vinay's done for her) and small surprises but none of these are strong enough to really thrill us.

Like Kokki, Jayam Kondaan benefits from having a hero who tries to avoid trouble instead of looking for it or tackling it head-on when it comes. So, while the movie creates many familiar situations, they are not always resolved in familiar ways. The nature of looking for a trouble-free way out also makes Vinay more realistic and easier to warm up to. Lekha is also an interesting character. While she is stubborn and doesn't always think straight (atleast in hindsight), she has strong, acceptable reasons for doing what she does. So we're unable to really takes sides in the fight between Vinay and her and this makes the movie interesting.

With the heavy story, the director is able to keep the movie lean without any unnecessary frills. And the leanness isn't just the lack of a separate comedy track or forcibly inserted fight sequences. Almost every scene(like the first one where Vinay gifts Lekha a pen) that appears to be a one-off incident and every character(like the dada's wife) that appears to be an unnecessary character, end up playing a part in the proceedings.

Vinay gives off the same impression he gave off in Unnaale Unnaale. He is natural as the role demands but could use some work on his expressions. Bhavana looks cute as always but though she gets first billing over Lekha, hers is the less important character. Lekha brings the right attitude to her role and like Chaya Singh in Vallamai Thaaraayo, is able to get us on her side inspite of taking quite a few wrong decisions. Both Vivek and Santhanam raise some laughs but many of their jokes seem forced and so lose their impact since they don't fit into the situation. The actors playing the dada and his wife catch our eye with their natural and intense portrayals.