The Tamil version of the Hindi film Nil Battey Sannata, Amma Kanakku is a feel-good drama — the kind of film that leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling — despite dealing with an important subject: the need to have an ambition in life. It is a well-intentioned film that largely avoids the heavy-handed melodrama that such 'message movies' tend to go for, only succumbing to this pitfall towards the end.

The story revolves around Shanthi (Amala Paul), a single mother who works as a maid and does other odd jobs to make a living and raise her teenaged daughter Abinaya (Yuvalakshmi, adequate). But... read the rest.