Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal Episodes 5 to 7 review: The partly engaging episodes fail in engaging viewers

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Story: Students of Siragugal Matriculation Higher Secondary School divide into two groups; the old students aren't happy with the smartness of new students who joined the institution after the lockdown. Even as they continue to express their disliking for each other, the school correspondent is worried about the government's decision to shut down the campus owing to low strength.

Review: The first four episodes of the new season of Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal which was released last week fell short of expectations as it couldn't recreate the memorable moments offered by the first season. They have released three new episodes this week, but none of them are as engaging as the first season which entertained people a decade-and-a-half ago. 

The Known Stranger

The episode begins with a shrewd private school owner approaching the school correspondent of Siragugal with an intention to own the institution. However, the latter expresses his disinterest to sell the school despite him facing the heat from the government. 

Kalai, who manages to find a part-time job as a hotel server, realizes that he is still haunted by his past after he comes across the cop who turned his life topsy-turvy. As if this isn't enough, he interferes in the gang war in the school again, because of which he faces the wrath of old students' gang headed by Gautham.

Latecomer

Nandini, who's already in the school principal's bad book, faces yet another humiliation when the latter asks her to come up with an apology letter for coming late to the school. But little did she realize that she would face more embarrassment in the class because of her poor command over English.

Kalai faces yet another shock while working as a part-time server; Abhi and her family visit the restaurant and the latter finds it difficult to believe that her classmate is leading a burdensome life. Kalai, too, feels bad that his hidden identity has been revealed finally in front of her classmate.  

Heartfelt

The shrewd private school owner tries his luck again, but in vain. But he manages to manipulate an experienced teacher working in Siragugal and ensures that he resigns from the school. The school correspondent, who is already depressed about his son's wayward behaviour, gets the shock of his life after learning about one of his employees quitting the institution. 

Meanwhile, his son Guna, who is least interested in school affairs, continues leading a reckless life, causing insult to his father who holds a respectable position in the society.

It is the sincere performances of Rajesh, Raja Vetri Prabhu, Teja, Arvind, Sangeetha and Deepika which makes the series a watchable fare. The slew of generic scenes without any novelty, okayish background score and lack of character depth spoils the flow of proceedings.

Except for a few actors, others come up with not-so-great performances and the screenplay lacks finesse. The fun-filled lively moments and intriguing conflicts one expects from a campus drama is completely missing in the latest episodes.

Verdict: Overall, the series lacks a soul because of which the issues various characters undergo do not affect us much. This limits us from empathizing with them.  

Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.