Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Would you attend an ex’s wedding if you were sent a physical invite home after months of radio silence?
Written and directed by Dhanush, the 2025 Tamil romantic comedy Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam (Why is the moon mad at me?) stars Pavish Narayan as protagonist Prabhu, a chef in talks with a young woman named Preethi (Priya Prakash Varrier) for marriage. But before he can make up his mind, he reconnects with his ex-girlfriend Nila (Anikha Surendran) for closure—reopening old wounds.
The opening minutes of Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam establish Preethi as a practical young woman who is charmed by Prabhu and hopes they can build a happy marriage, if he can let go of his past. She even encourages him to seek closure with Nila so they can start their own chapter on a clean slate.
Comedic flashbacks show how Prabhu met Nila in college through his friend Ravi (Venkatesh Menon). Nila, the best friend of Ravi’s girlfriend Sriya (Rabiya Khatoon), meets Prabhu when he and his buddy Rajesh (Mathew Thomas) agree to cook for their anniversary party. One of the funniest bits in the film is a sequence where Ravi and Sriya keep getting overly mushy around their friends, while a soft chant of “cringe couple” plays in the background multiple times.
The first forty minutes or so of Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam are entertaining, but things start to go downhill when Nila and Prabhu introduce each other to their families, despite still being in college. What’s with these scripts pushing college kids to get married right away? Anyway… Nila’s super-rich dad (R. Sarathkumar) isn’t thrilled about her wanting to marry Prabhu and starts crashing their dates, which is both unrealistically absurd and hilariously over-the-top. Besides, Nila’s personality is reduced to “I love food”, we practically learn nothing else about her.
Mathew Thomas as Rajesh is the most fun and relatable character in the film. He’s a simple, supportive friend who puts up with all of Prabhu’s antics to win over Nila, whether it’s being ditched in the middle of the night so Prabhu can go on a long drive with Ravi, Sriya, and Nila, or being asked to abandon his own bike so Prabhu can ride with Nila in the rain.
Despite being a romantic comedy, there’s no real chemistry between Prabhu and Nila, which will most likely make viewers root for Preethi. And as if two love interests weren’t enough, the second half of the film introduces yet another young woman who falls for Prabhu. It’s the platonic bromance between Prabhu and Rajesh that’s the most fun to watch in Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam. From celebrating small milestones to weeping together over heartbreaks, they’re what you’d call ‘friendship goals’.
The musical score is quite memorable, though a few tracks, while catchy on their own, don’t blend well with the storytelling. For instance, once Nila and Prabhu start dating, a song-and-dance sequence follows, which should’ve been vibrant and energetic but is surprisingly slow. On the other hand, the track that plays when Prabhu reunites with Nila perfectly captures the tense mood of the moment.
Look, we all know there are only two likely outcomes for a story like this. And despite being high on comedy and friendship, director Dhanush chooses the more conventional ending. Sort of. A dramatic, almost tragic subplot is thrown in to add weight to the breezy romance, but it ends up making the climax feel dragged out. So when most of the characters are crying in the final act, you’re likely just waiting for it all to be over.
Overall, this is still a fun one-time watch that misses the chance to break the mold and deliver a more memorable story.
Rating: 3 out of 5. Watch the film on Prime Video.
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