She emotes effectively and the scene where she breaks down in front of the mirror saying, " Enaku theramai irukkaa illaiaya-ndradha vida, naan yaaru ne therla pa ivangaluku" deserves a special mention. The rigorous cricket coaching she underwent has paid off and the average viewer will surely buy her as the off-spinner in this film. It's quite astonishing to see Aishwarya, who played a mother of two, not so long ago in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, convincingly play a teenage cricketer here. The director won half the game when he roped in Aishwarya Rajesh and Sathyaraj for the film. He effortlessly looks and acts the part, and for the first time, the 'actor' in him can be said to have overshadowed the 'entertainer'. But he surprises us and shines as Nelson Dhilipkumar, not as the Sivakarthikeyan we know. If someone had said a few years ago that the actor would appear in a cameo as a 40-year-old without the usual trappings of commercial cinema, none of us would have bought it. Kanaa sticks to this template, but still, manages to hold our attention because this role is played by Sivakarthikeyan, who pulls it off surprisingly well. It's mandatory for a sports film to have a mentor who guides the lead when they are battling a tough phase and are tempted to call it quits.
Even when he ends up being the Murali of Tamil cinema instead of the Krishna of lore, he smiles with the same innocence and cheer. He loves Kousi for the person she is and doesn't get carried away by her looks. Arunraja also deserves a shout-out for writing Murali Krishna (Darshan) as a selfless, unconditional and cheerful lover, who exhibits nothing but the purest form of agape love. Be it the loud-mouthed mother (the excellent Rama) who initially fumes on seeing Kousalya 'bat aadradhu' with boys, or the ever-optimistic best friend of Murugesan (Ilavarasu), every single character is so well-written that you almost wish for spinoff stories for each of them. Though the film primarily rests on the shoulders of these two characters, it still makes you fall in love with the other people in their world. Murugesan and Kousalya also have a common dream - to see India lift the World Cup once again in cricket. Many such beautifully-written parallels make Kanaa rise above the usual, and shine throughout. While Murugesan longs to step into the marshy land with his plough, Kousalya desires with all her heart to set foot on the green grass of the stadium sporting an Indian jersey.
And interestingly, their major struggle is not to prove themselves in their respective arena, but to get into one in the first place. They are both hardworking, stubborn and extremely proud of their profession. While the former fights against poverty and drought to safeguard his identity as a farmer, the latter battles against sexism and regional politics to be identified as a cricketer. Kanaa is essentially Murugesan (Sathyaraj) and his daughter Kousalya's (Aishwarya Rajesh) quest for identity.