With our big stars opting almost exclusively for masala and actions films, the only full-length romances we get these days seem to be ones with new actors. Odippolaamaa, which sees actress Sangeetha's brother Parimal debut as hero, is the latest such romance. Parimal has some distance to go before being a successful romantic hero but the film is an enjoyable, breezy entertainer with a good mix of romance, comedy and sentiments.

Visu(Parimal), a playful, college-going guy, falls in love with Anjali(Sandhya) and manages to move to the same apartment complex that she lives in. When he finally gathers the courage to express his love to her, she turns down his proposal since his studies aren't going all that great. That makes Visu hit the books with a vengeance and pass his exams. But Anjali, who wants to put an end to the enmity between her dad and her uncle, decides that marrying the uncle's son is the way to achieve that. Meanwhile, Anjali's father(Kota) also fixes her wedding with a boy of his choice.

Odippolaamaa's story arc bears many resemblances to the storyline of Kutty. In both movies, we have a hero who falls in love with a girl who has already set her mind on marrying another guy but that isn't enough for him to give up hope. Plot developments in both films allow the hero to spend some time alone with the girl and the climaxes in both movies take place at weddings. But while Kutty became quite serious in the second half, Odippolaamaa manages to keep things light-hearted throughout. That, along with the better characterization of the supporting characters(the heroine's suitor, the parents on both sides, etc.) makes this a more entertaining affair overall.

The film doesn't break any new ground as far as romance goes but the predictable situations do unfold in an interesting manner. This is mainly because all the characters are fleshed out well. The lead pair is familiar but taking a leaf out of Vikraman's book, the director fashions likeable supporting characters who are well-intentioned even if their approach is not always right. Most impressively, even the heroine's suitors, who are usually painted as caricatures to make her choice easier, fall into this category. This leads to a few small surprises that keep the story moving and some nice scenes(like Sandhya's wedding day) that are effectively sentimental in a feel-good rather than a melodramatic way.

The trajectory of love isn't particularly smooth here but the film keeps things light and never gets bogged down in sentiments. While the more overtly humorous sequences(like Parimal's friend's encounter with Kota) and the funny one-liners(Parimal's response to the passenger in the bus about his eloping is hilarious) do their job, the funny lines that dispel the seriousness of potentially emotional scenes(like Parimal's comment about his future after Sandhya turns him down) work even better because they are rather unexpected. This non-serious take on things continues right upto the end with Parimal's frustrated comment making even the predictable climax more enjoyable than usual.

Parimal gets by since the movie casts him as a lovesick, loveable loser rather than a stud but his woodenness does rob his character of some of its charm. Sandhya makes up for it somewhat with a solid performance but doesn't have as much to do as Parimal. Kota plays the dad with his usual style but is more impressive when he softens up. Another common factor between such low-profile romances (Pudichirukku was another one) is that they have good music and Imman maintains that trend. Ading Ading... is a lot of fun inspite of being the familiar hero+friends group song. Ragalakkaara Maman... is another very enjoyable number with Imman's voice giving it a nice touch. Aruvi Pola... is a nice melodious number. Poochaandi... is one of the worst instances of an item number as it pops up out of the blue with no connection to the story.