Akash Vaani review: This rom-com, starring Kavin and Reba Monica John, is a half-baked fare

2/5

Story: A young writer, who is readying a story based on the love life of two of her college mates, is struggling to impress a publisher. After knowing that the couple has separated, she arranges a college reunion to unite themselves again, and to look for more interesting episodes to complete her story.   

Review: Rom-coms are fun to watch when emotional sequences are engaging with interestingly developed characters, convincing romantic portions and relatable fun moments. But all these goes for a toss in Akash Vaani, thanks to the lack of novelty in characterizations and emotional depth. The seven-episode series begins with Teena (Vinsu Rachel Sam), an aspiring writer who is desperately trying to impress Inbaraj (Livingston), a publisher. 

Teena's story is about the love life of Akash (Kavin) and Vaani (Reba Monica John) who were her college mates a decade ago. With Inbaraj constantly rejecting her writing, Teena decides to arrange a college reunion to unite Akash and Vaani who are currently separated. She also pins hopes on the week-long reunion to add more interesting details to her story. 

Cut to flashback, we are shown how Akash and Vaani fell in love with each other, after which they started leading a life together post their marriage. We also get a few characters in the form of their classmates like Dhanasekhar (Sharath Ravi), Kamesh (Deeparaja), Anu (Abhita Venkataraman) and Dileep (Deepak Paramesh).

Though the college friends are meeting after 10 years, we don't get connected to their nostalgic memories. In fact, none of their lives have changed much over the years, except for Akash and Vaani who don't share feelings for each other any more.  

However, we get only generic sequences on the rift which occurred between the couple, who was the favourite pair of the classmates a decade ago. Kavin and Reba share a good chemistry on screen, and it helps the first episode of the series in which the story is about to take off. 

A few fun-filled moments between the character played by Kavin and his friends, and the scenes where Kavin tries to impress Reba are enjoyable, though there isn't anything new. The screen presence of Kavin and Reba in romantic scenes are convincing and it is this factor which makes the first few episodes watchable. 

But as the story progresses, the dearth of touching scenes and fun-filled moments offer a dull experience to the viewers. The seven-day reunion tests the patience after a point, as some scenes get repetitive. The core issue about the plot is the absence of a solid reason behind the separation of Akash and Vaani.

Akash is depicted as a self-obsessed person who becomes workaholic post the marriage. But Vaani's adamant nature in not offering a second chance to him appears forced. The plot looks superficial because of the same and the viewers do not feel emotionally invested in their issues. 

To begin with, it isn't clear as to why Teena took up the love life of Akash and Vaani for her story. There is nothing unusual or inspiring in the couple's love story. There is hardly any detail shown on Akash's background or the relationship between Vaani and her grandfather.

A scene involving the death of the college principal's wife is supposed to leave us in tears, but the execution and staging make it an okayish scene. The scenes which involve a teashop owner (Kavithalaya Krishna) is generic, to say the least. A sequence in which Akash and friends try to unite Anu and her unromantic husband is supposed to be funny, but it hardly evokes laughter.  

What stands out in the series is the performance and one-liners of Sharath Ravi and the on screen pair between Kavin and Reba. The background score by Guna Balasubramanian is decent while cinematography by Santhakumar is adequate.

Verdict: With a slew of predictable sequences and generic set of characters, the series doesn't offer any exciting moment. 

Akash Vaani is streaming on aha Tamil.