Ayirathil Oruvan - Review

I had to watch the movie twice before i put down my thoughts on it. Unlike the industry and the media I didn't eagerly wait for this one, and took my own time to catch it when it released. Loved it the first time and even more the second. Keeping the commercial aspect out of it, I really wish the theatres didn't chop the movie down as they pleased. The 2 theatres I went to, had their own versions of the film. I wonder who gets to do that? I would love to have a job that lets me cut and paste movies before a show... :). Should check.

Ayirathil Oruvan does not aspire to be an intelligent film. Entertainment is the primary factor and the efforts are obvious throughout the film. Why I mention it particularly is because I came across people of the opinion that Selva Raghavan was taking himself too seriously. I dread to know what we get, if he does do that and give us the end result to see. Selva has presented a fairly interesting story in a format that's never done in Tamil Cinema. The screenplay, dialogues and the lead cast conribute immensely to the watchability and the fun factor of the film. He then incorporates small doses of personal quirks and fantasies to his frames and situations that he uses to carry the story forward. Now these are not essential for the film but they do contribute to the movie watching exerience (positively and negatively). The blood, violence, the sub cultures and sexuality displayed, I see as a result of this. The gun happy army's treatment of the ethnics (or people dependant on nature) on more than one occassion has to be a reminder of the days we are in. The extent of Selva's vision impress me. Its entertaining and different.


The film traces a group of people out in search of a lost archeologist (Prathap Pothen) researching the remains of the Chola dynasty from 11th century AD. Leading the team is Anita (Reema Sen) accompanied by the daughter of the archeologist Lavanya (Andrea Jeremiah), some private security led by Ravisekharan (Azhagam Perumal)and a bunch of coolies headed by Muthu (Karthi). As Reema takes the story forward, Karthi keeps us in splits and constant wonder at his acting capabilities. Reema in a role of a life time presents a dazzling performance. It made me jump with joy to see a female character in tamil cinema given this importance and have it carried out most successfully by the actor. She is beautiful, brave, brutal, intelligent and mean all at the same time. Where any actor would be insecure to let a woman take the focus, Karthi displays immense talent and prudence in choosing to do the role. He is easily the best part of the film. Andrea is graceful and subtle in her depiction of Lavanya, who is the brain that leads the team. She underplay of the unaffected, independant woman of today adds to the credibility of the character. Partibhan's enacting of the Chola King is moving. Among all the display of majesty and sorrow, his panache for comedy takes him instantly to the hearts of the audience.

The camera (Ramji) is beautiful and haunting.. While some animation errors were obvious, it did not really affect my experience of the film. There is no escaping violence, it is in your face and bloody. The frames are dark and strong almost throughout. The music is hardly what one would expect from a 22 year old. GV Prakash bowls you over with the background score. While 'Un mele asathan' is raunchy and delirious, 'Malai Neram' by Andrea is pleasant and soothing. Its a pity that the latter was not included in the movie. 'The King arrives'- a crazy heavy metal piece is another of my favourite.

If some long drawn scenes like those at the 'killer' amphitheatre and the battles were crisply edited, the more interesting parts of the movie dying at the hands of the theatres could' ve been avoided. Some parts of the movie continue to be ambiguous, even after watching it twice..For eg: what really happened to the psychic/ priest? How did he comeback from the dead? We could've done with some lighter moments in the second half. Some key characters just fade to into oblivion by the end of the movie. And Selva better give us a sequel to justify all that; or I have a lot more questions for him.