Aayirathil Oruvan Review

In the last post, I strayed away from the topic to give you a perspective of original writers and plagiarizing reviewers. But here, I will post a review of the film.

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Let me tell you that the film is a gruesome, mind-blowing adventure and a roller coaster ride on subtly interwoven messages for the mankind and creative, aesthetic and fantastic fantasies. The story is entirely unpredictable which leads people to call it as straying away from the plot.

It is said that cliche is loved and that a few of us have wanted the film to be cliched. A number of good films lose out due to this expectation. The story takes unpredictable turns and eventually ends in a sober mood which tells upon the overall feel of the film.

The three lead characters set out on an expedition (though partly two with the objective) to find a lost civilization of the Cholas. The breathtaking ride takes us on a high speed screenplay fostered by unexpected twists and turns. The second half establishes the plot and it is only in the second half that you get to know the basic plot of the film. Till the very end, almost towards the end of the third act, you are left in the dark about the plot.

The film takes the point of view of the Cholas and glorifies them, which may be debatable on various fronts - more towards the objective of the film and on why it does so, as in the film. Aayirathil Oruvan turns midway into the mystic and the occult and right when we fear such an orientation of the story, we are blessed with historic revelations on the civilization of the Cholas.

Some of the websites have given honest reviews while some others very biased towards describing the film a crass take on civilizations. The film fails to make an impact at the end not because the story goes wayward but because on the part of the Cholas, the defeat is partially accepted by the Cholas (unusual for the protagonists to suffer towards the end in films), and that the climax was not an emotional resolution of the events that happened before.

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This is a most commonly misunderstood or misread phenomenon that the film fails to make an overall impact. This is because the climax should be a resolving of all the problems that we witness.

Music score was racy and very much unexpected from a youngster as G.V. Prakash who has scored moderate in all his previous films. Ramji did great with shooting the vast expanses. Karthi is identified as an actor who doesn't feel a stranger even in the very first of the two films and we may have to consider that this film was signed when his first film was not released. Reema Sen added a bold look to the role and much decree seems to have come from the director in shaping her role.

Andrea seems to show more of her interest in singing than acting which seems to tell upon her in the film as well. Parhiban's role is as unexpected as possible and he seems to justify the role offered with much delight.

Finally, Selvaraghavan turns the biggest star of all with his ability to make a film that surpasses years of expectations and sets new standards. Some of the visual spectacles in the film are never before seen in the history of Tamil Cinema. Selvaraghavan must be truly lauded in making such a film!

Aayirathil Oruvan - Selvaraghavan The Filmmaker

A film enthusiast as me would any day be compelled to boast of a film like Aayirathil Oruvan. Nevertheless, I would look into the film in the perspective of a reviewer (though not as critic) as well as the one who enjoyed the film whistling on special scenes. It is common practice that I clap for scenes which others do not, understanding the greatness of a scene through subtle clues that directors employ!

But others do not and whoever comes to movies with me gets embarrassed though I do not, clapping untimely. I read a few of the reviews before writing one myself. I could see that those who reviewed did so taking four points here and there from other websites and fused them to review an original film with original screenplay.

I hated the irony of plagiarizers reviewing original work. Perhaps they were content writers working for websites and had to make quick bucks reaching deadlines. Or perhaps they were not able to review at all. Worse, they didn't watch the film.

Coming to the film, I would say that the film is a tribute to the Indian Film Industry and many film buffs could be offended, if the film is not taken to the film festivals the least. Selvaraghavan has surpassed years of craving and made the impossible, possible.

I could see how the content writing reviewers took a high ground and stared on the film through a narrow hole. Plagiarizers taking high ground was seriously offensive to me. They were not to judge an original work which involved years of hard work. Those blatant attempts at finding faults on the film are not as successful as the movie is.

Let me tell you reviewers(or content writers - I would request you to not demean the profession as I am also part of you), reviewing a work is not about taking the high ground but about looking at the work with a honest pair of eyes. Selvaraghavan has done something remarkable which I do not mean to say that we should turn a blind eye to all possible flaws that might occur while writing a film or while making or the liberties that are self-allowed to point them out.

I may also agree that your reviews were honest and I was offended by the usage of other work to review an original piece of work. A writer is one who is able to think independently on anything and I laud selvaraghavan on the same. In my last post, I spoke about originality of work and seemed to discriminatingly favor a writer for the originality he possessed.

But now, I would not hesitate to call a filmmaker right for the honest attempt he has made in stretching the benchmark on the quality of films that are to be made in the future. He has surpassed years of collective aspirations. He has also sent a strong message across that so much can be done with hard work, perseverance, passion and talent than mere experience!