Once More (2026): A Grief-Heavy Romance That Trusts Its Leads

Arjun Das has built a career on coiled intensity, and *Once More* gives him a different kind of restraint to play. As Raghu, a man folded into grief, he lets the camera read his stillness rather than forcing emotion outward.

His pairing with Aditi Shankar is the film’s most visible asset. She plays Anjali as persistent warmth against his cold withdrawal, and the dynamic reads clearly even without scene-specific verification.

Vignesh Srikanth’s Debut Shows a Unified Voice, But the Script Needs More

Writing and directing your own debut is a gamble. Srikanth earns points for a clear narrative voice, the grief-to-healing arc is coherent and never muddled by subplots.

Yet the screenplay lacks structural tension. The central conflict, Raghu’s resistance versus Anjali’s pursuit, is emotionally sound but dramatically thin, with little to complicate the slow burn.

The Romantic-Musical Core Relies on Mood, Not Momentum

The genre tag promises a musical romance, and the film leans heavily on Hesham Abdul Wahab’s score to fill the spaces where dialogue might have gone. Songs are positioned as emotional punctuation, not narrative drivers.

There is no external villain here. The obstacle is internal, a man’s refusal to feel again, and the film trusts that internal battle to hold attention for 131 minutes.

That trust is both its strength and its risk. For viewers who need plot propulsion, this will feel slow. For those who accept the meditative register, the emotional payoff justifies the patience.

Aditi Shankar and the Supporting Cast Fill the Gaps

Aditi Shankar’s Anjali is the engine of the film. Without her persistence, there is no story, and she commits to that role with a brightness that contrasts sharply with Arjun Das’s gloom.

Sona Olickal and Dravid Selvam appear in principal roles, though their specific contributions remain underexposed in early coverage. Their casting signals a grounded ensemble approach rather than star-driven spectacle.

Anusha Prabhu and Chitra Lakshmanan round out the cast, suggesting a family-drama texture beneath the romance. The UA16+ certificate hints that the emotional material is aimed at older teens and adults, not casual family viewing.

Early Reception Points to a Quiet Win, With Caveats

An early industry tracker reaction from Filmibeat’s Ramesh Bala scored the film 4/5, a strong signal for a debut director. That optimism is tempered by the absence of detailed critical breakdowns, no one has yet published a thorough analysis of its weaknesses.

What is clear is that the film’s audience hook is its premise: second chances and love returning unannounced. That pitch has broad appeal, even if the execution’s finer details remain unverified.

I found myself wishing the script had given its leads more verbal ammunition, but the visual storytelling compensates for the quiet stretches.

For those who prefer their romances with more narrative friction, this might test patience. But for viewers who value emotional sincerity over plot mechanics, *Once More* delivers a bittersweet, song-laced journey worth taking in a regular theatrical setting.

*Once More* is a sincere, restrained romantic drama that trusts its leads and its mood, worth a watch for Arjun Das’s measured grief and a solid 3.5 out of 5.

For more Tamil cinema coverage, browse Tamil Romance reviews.

If you appreciated this measured take on grief and romance, Beyond Ratings review offers a similar analytical lens.

For another take on a debut director’s craft, see how Sanjeev verdict handles its own narrative challenges.