‘Expect the Unexpected’.
This seems to be my tagline for the movies that I have watched for 2026. Just when I thought that all movies that I have seen this year have been a washout experience, I randomly happened to hop on to a fantastic movie that evoked some nice memories, taught some life-lessons and of course entertained me as well.
‘Motha Rathri’ (First Night) directed and acted by debutant, Raja Karuppasamy hosting a galaxy of newcomers takes us on an emotional roller-coaster ride of the incidents that happen over a marriage. Spoilers Ahead!!
Highlights
Cinematography by Surendran Paranjothi in extensive night-time low light situations is very well done. The editing in this movie (Ashok Arjunan) is precise, with not even a frame out of place or unnecessary.
Chetan, Bagavathi Perumal (Bucks), A. Venkatesh and my favorite Abdool Lee's performance as the groom's brother-in-law along with many beautifully written and acted co-stars are the gold-standard for character artists in a movie.
Anishma Anilkumar has performed her part to absolute perfection portraying the new-generation’s character with all her confusion. Her exuberance in the first half along with her silence in the second adds an amazing layer of complexity to her role. Wishing her more fantastic movies in future along with wishes for excellent performances in Sirai and Youth movies.
Debutant Rishikanth has given one of the best performances by a debutant in recent memory. His emotions, simply conveyed through his body-language and eyes, are a treat to behold. He is truly a star in the making and hope to see him in many good story-based movies in future.
But the true cherry on the cake, is the fantastic debut by the director, Raja Karuppasamy, who made the first brave step by keeping a double-edged title. The writing and the dialogues are so precise and so much on point, that we sit up and notice every frame and word uttered with rapt attention. What surprised me most was his acting abilities as the lover of the female protagonist. His ability to evoke a bit of mixed feelings with his clumsy nature and then his ability to understand the truth of life and express it to Anishma’s character is quite remarkable.
With many Tamil movies trying their best to set a twisted narrative, this movie comes as a breath of fresh air and reminds us of the power of simple, decent yet powerful stories of human emotions. If you have a couple of hours to spend, this is a well-deserved watch. Do let me know your thoughts, if you watched the movie.
