My Dear Dolly is a quirky 2026 Tamil romantic comedy directed by A. Aravinth Raj, starring VJ Pappu as the smitten office worker Karthik who convinces his uninterested boss Sumithra (Anupama Anandraj) into a sham six-month marriage to dodge her arranged match, only for things to unravel when she walks out, prompting him to create a lifelike mannequin replica for drunken confessions and heartfelt monologues that lead to an absurd yet oddly touching reunion. The premise hinges on dated rom-com tropes like persistent wooing, meddling mothers with horoscope obsessions, and clichéd buddy advice, gaining bizarre momentum in the second half with the creepy-yet-earnest doll interactions and a contrived climax where Sumithra impersonates it motionless to spark romance, all padded to a merciful 111-minute runtime. VJ Pappu brings energetic innocence to the desperate lover, Anupama holds her own with subtle shifts from stern to vulnerable especially in the doll scenes, and supports like KPY Rajavelu add fleeting laughs, backed by M. Fazil Navas Khan’s emotional score and Balaji K. Sekar’s unflashy visuals, though repetitive dialogues and logic gaps like the flawless mannequin tech undermine believability. It aims for bold whimsy in exploring rejection and redemption but stumbles with illogical setups, overlong padding, and cringe-worthy execution that feels more awkward than charming
