is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Kaarthikk Sundar in his directorial debut and written by Deepak Sundarrajan.
A remake of the Telugu film Pelli Choopulu (2016), it stars Priya Bhavani Shankar and Harish Kalyan as a girl and boy who meet during a matchmaking event.
The rights to remake Pelli Choopulu in Tamil were initially acquired by Gautham Vasudev Menon in 2016, and the film titled Pon Ondru Kandein (transl.
The project faced delays and was ultimately shelved due to budgetary constraints; by November 2019, it had undergone a complete change in cast and crew.
When Karthik and Shruthi meet at a matchmaking event, her younger cousin, Barath, accidentally locks the door, which jams very often, and they get stuck eventually.
After realising they love each other, they come back together through a radio show organised by Shruthi's friend Ramya.
In late October 2016, Gautham Vasudev Menon bought the rights to remake the Telugu film Pelli Choopulu (2016) in Tamil, under his banner Ondraga Entertainment.
[1] The film was titled Pon Ondru Kandein, and was to be directed by Menon's assistant Senthil Veerasamy.
Followed by the uncertainty prevailing over the film's lead cast after Vishal's exit,[7][8] adding to the reason was budgetary constraints which prompted Menon to shelve the project.
[11] The new film was jointly produced by A Studios LLP, A Havish Production, SP Cinemas, Madhav Media and Third Eye Entertainment,[12][13] with Kaarthikk Sundar, a former associate of A. L. Vijay, making his directorial debut,[14] and Satyanarayana Koneru and Ramesh Varma Penmesta handling production duties.
[15] Kaarthikk chose not to do a shot-for-shot remake, but kept the original film's essence, and added, "Since Southern States have many commonalities, there was not much to change".
[17] In a December 2019 interview, Kaarthikk said that after watching Pelli Choopulu, he told Harish he would be a "perfect fit" as the lead actor if the film was to be remade in Tamil.
[19] In preparation for his role as a chef, Harish learnt cooking from Siddhanth, the owner of the barbecue food truck Spitfire BBQ, on whose life the original film was based.
[29] M. Suganth of The Times of India called it "a worthy remake that is as charming and delightful" as the Telugu original.
It might work better if watched as a stand-alone film, without the lingering presence of Pelli Choopulu looming ahead of it".