Idli Kottu Movie Review: Dhanush’s Village Drama Balances Emotions but Falters in Second Half

Idli Kottu Movie Review || Review: Idli Kottu; Cast: Dhanush, Nithya Menon, Arun Vijay, Shalini Pandey, Sathyaraj, Rajkiran and others; Production: Akash Baskaran, Dhanush, Direction: Dhanush; Release: 01-10-2025

The Dussehra rush at the box office started with the movie 'Oji'. To further increase the buzz, festival movies are being released from Kannada... Tamil. The film that came out as a part of it is 'Idli Kottu'. Dhanush is playing the lead role and is being produced by himself. The movie was released without much fanfare. And how is it? What kind of entertainment did it provide?

Shiva Keshavulu's (Rajkiran) idli shop is famous in the village. The idlis made in that shop are very tasty and delicious. Shiva Keshavulu's son is Murali (Dhanush). A young boy, he hopes to make money by converting the shop run by his father into a franchise and opening hotels in other places under the same name. But Shiva Keshavulu is not at all keen on selling idlis under his own name, which he did not make with his own hands. With that, Murali leaves the village where he lives and goes to the city. (idli kottu movie review telugu) His journey that started like this reaches Bangkok. He does not even care about those who are busy with work. In Bangkok, his marriage with his business partner Vishnuvardhan (Sathyaraj) daughter Meera (Shalini Pandey) is fixed. In a few days, just before the wedding, Murali's father Shiva Keshavulu dies. Did Murali, who came to see his father for the last time, go back to Bangkok or not? What happened to his Idli Kottu after Shiva Keshavulu died? What is the relationship between Murali and Kalyani (Nitya Menon)? Did he marry Meera? You have to watch the movie to know other things.

How are you?

When you go to your hometown, every tree, hut, road, temple, people you see there, and the things they do tell a story. Every memory is a film. Dhanush also announced at the beginning that the film was inspired by the memories he had when he went to his hometown... a simple idli hut there. You will immediately connect with this story that comes from real-life characters and incidents. Especially, everyone who leaves their hometown and the people they have seen and runs away feels like they are watching their lives on screen. It may be easy to connect the audience to such stories that reveal human roots, but the real challenges lie in making the story interesting for two and a half hours. Dhanush has succeeded in this regard till the first half. In the second half, it seems as if he has taken the story in another direction. As almost all the scenes revolve around Akash's (Arun Vijay) ego, one gets the feeling that this is one story and this is another story. Again, it seems as if he has entered the original Idli Kotthu story with the flag scenes.

Dhanush takes him to his hometown right from the opening scenes. The story takes an interesting turn when Shiva Keshavulu dies. What did Murali do with the idli maker run by his father? What kind of punishment did he give him after he made a decision? How is it possible to make idlis as delicious as Shiva Keshavulu's? The key to the film is the story of how Akash's ego is developed since his arrival in India. The second half loses its grip as the emotions dwindle in the first half. The scenes of having to rebuild the idli maker and linking that incident with his parents in a flashback seem to bring the film back to the original story. Each of them has presented these kinds of stories related to their hometown and their parents in their own style. Dhanush's effort with 'Idli Kottu' is impressive to many.

Who did it?

The acting of the protagonist Dhanush (Dhanush idly kadai) is impressive. He has settled into the role of Murali. He appeared in some scenes as a teenage boy, and then acted very naturally in a corporate avatar and as a village boy. Nithya Menon looked very natural in the role of a village girl Kalyani. Shalini Pandey played the role of Meera, who looks trendy. Her role in the flag scenes is crucial. Rajkiran played a good role as Shiva Keshav. Geetha Kailasam is seen in the role of the mother. The roles of Arun Vijay and Sathyaraj are crucial in the story. The acting of the two as father and son is impressive. (idli kottu movie review telugu) The roles of Parthiban and Samudrakhani are also important. In the technical department, G.V. Prakash Kumar's music gets high marks. Kiran Kaushik's visuals are impressive. Although the way Dhanush wrote this story inspired by small memories is pleasing, the movie gives the feeling that some more exercises need to be done in the process of bringing it to the screen.

Strengths

+ Naturalness in the story

+ Some emotions

+ Actors

Weaknesses

- A story that is not new

- Second half

Finally: Idli kutta that reminds me of my hometown...

Note: This review is from the point of view of the reviewer. This is only the personal opinion of the reviewer!