5 min readHyderabadUpdated: Feb 7, 2026 05:58 AM IST
With Love movie review: There’s a particular kind of Tamil film that doesn’t announce itself loudly. It just sits down next to you, starts talking, and before you know it, you’re smiling at the screen like an idiot remembering someone you haven’t thought about in years. With Love is that film.
Sathya (Abishan Jeevinth) is not your typical Tamil cinema hero. He’s awkward, deeply insecure, and completely terrified of romance. When his sister sets him up on a blind date, he reluctantly shows up, and meets Monisha (Anaswara Rajan), a bold and expressive young woman who is everything he is not. What starts as a slightly uncomfortable coffee shop conversation takes a surprising turn when they realize they attended the same school in Tiruchirappalli, he as a senior, she as a junior. The conversation drifts into first crushes, missed signals, and the kind of unspoken teenage feelings that most of us buried somewhere and never revisited. Monisha then proposes something unexpected: instead of going on another date, why don’t they both track down their old school flames, say what they never got to say, and close that chapter for good?
Debut director Madhan clearly understands that the best romantic films aren’t about grand gestures, they’re about small, truthful moments. A nervous glance across a classroom. A name you doodled on the last page of a notebook. The specific ache of seeing someone every single day and never finding the courage to speak. With Love is stuffed with these moments, and they land because the writing treats them with genuine care rather than as punchlines or nostalgia bait.
What Madhan pulls off structurally is the difference between tone and depth, and he knows you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other. The opening stretch plays like a conversation you’d overhear between two strangers at a cafe and find yourself eavesdropping on, easy, funny, full of little human details. But as the film progresses, you realize Madhan has been quietly laying emotional groundwork the whole time. By the time the story starts asking harder questions about regret, self-worth, and what it means to truly let someone in, you’re already too invested to look away. It’s the kind of slow-burn tonal shift that feels invisible while you’re watching it, but becomes obvious in hindsight, the mark of a writer who trusts his audience. And speaking of which, the comedy in this film genuinely lands.
The film refuses to make Monisha orbit around Sathya’s emotional arc like a satellite.. With Love does something structurally different: it builds two complete emotional histories and gives them equal narrative real estate. You understand why Monisha carries the baggage she carries, independent of how it serves Sathya’s story. It gives a fresh perspective on how love stories should be told.
Abishan Jeevinth, known until now as the director of last year’s hit Tourist Family, proves he can act just as well as he can direct. There’s a naturalism to his screen presence that’s rare for a debut. He plays Sathya’s vulnerability without making it feel performed, and there’s a breakdown scene that confirms this man has serious range. Anaswara Rajan is an absolute firecracker in contrast. Bold, expressive, and completely comfortable in front of the camera, she brings an energy that the film desperately needs to balance Sathya’s reserved nature. Sean Roldan’s music is the invisible thread holding the entire film together. His songs and background score define the emotional temperature of every moment. Shreyaas Krishna’s cinematography wraps the film in warm, golden tones that make Trichy and Chennai look like places you’d want to fall in love in. For a film made with a cast of mostly newcomers, the production quality is genuinely impressive.
Also Read – Euphoria movie review: A gut-punch of a film that refuses to look away
Story continues below this ad
The first half, while charming, takes its time getting to the actual premise, you’re nearly at the interval before the real journey begins, and some viewers might feel the setup is stretched. There’s also an interesting tension at the heart of the film that Madhan doesn’t fully resolve: Sathya’s insecurity and social awkwardness are framed almost entirely as endearing traits, when in reality, some of his behaviour deserves more scrutiny than the film is willing to give it. The story occasionally lets him off the hook because he’s coded as harmless, which feels like a missed opportunity to say something sharper about the difference between vulnerability and accountability in relationships.
With Love is the kind of film that won’t blow you away with spectacle, but it will sit quietly in your chest for days afterward. It’s a film about looking back at the people who shaped you without realizing it, about the courage it takes to say what you feel, and about the strange, wonderful possibility that the right person might have been there all along, you just weren’t ready to see them yet.
With Love movie cast: Abishan Jeevinth, Anaswara Rajan
With Love movie director: Madhan
With Love movie rating: 4 stars
With Love movie review: Abishan and Anaswara steal hearts.