Aravan movie review

A period movie that professes that capital punishment must be banned. Set in the 18th century, it talks about an era when people are actually given as human sacrifice. The director has taken his own sweet time to tell this message. But, the movie is grand. The DI work is elaborate. The cinematography is terrific.

Aadhi has given his heart and soul to this character. He looks the part as the monumental Varipuli / Chinna. Great choice for a rustic period movie. Pasupathi is the other pillar in the movie as Kombodhi, the thief from Vembur. The ladies in the movie all have small parts. Archana Kavi is impressive as Kombodhi's boisterous sister who falls for Varipuli.

The villagers way of life, their customs, the way the robberies are planned and the gradual bonding between the 2 lead men make the first half very impressive. The suspense behind Varipuli's identity introduces the twist in the script.

It is later known that Chinna is the head guard in his village called Chinniveeranpatti. His mother is from Vembur and he is a married man. Their village has frequent problems with Mathur, a neighboring village. A mysterious dead body result in things snowballing between the 2 villages again and one thing leads to other and finally its decided that Chinna will be given as sacrifice. Chinna starts digging up the mystery behind the dead body and comes to know the actual truth. He escapes and goes underground for 9 years. That is how he becomes a thief, encounters Kombodhi and becomes a part of Vembur.

The truth behind the dead body is told in a laborious way. There are far too many shifts during the narrative in this section. Bharath plays this small cameo. Anjali is another guest appearance. Swetha Menon, the bomb, seduces for a few moments. The man who plays the king is a real letdown with his stupid Tamil and bulky body language. The comedian in Chinniveeranpatti is another irritant.

Things really drag with 3 songs in the second half. Karthik's BG score is good. One of the songs in the first half makes a mark. By the time, the expected tragic climax arrives, its close to 3 hrs.

VERDICT: A novel attempt for sure. If only, the pace had been crisper, it could have been a classic. 

Vaanam (2011)

Whats it about
This movie comprises 5 short stories with all of them getting connected at a particular point and then meeting their respective endings.
Story 1: Cable Raja is a happy go lucky low class guy who falls in love with a very rich girl, posing as a rich guy. How he is after 40000/- to take his girl to the richest new year party is this story's plot. He has his friend, mama and granny to help him.
Story 2: A Muslim brother is looking for his long lost younger brother in Chennai. He later comes to know that his younger brother is involved in terrorism.
Story 3: A prostitute escapes from her brothel along with her trans-gender makeup assistant and they are off to Chennai to start their own business. But they get caught up with the police for an earlier notoriety.
Story 4: A rock-star is off to Chennai along with his troupe and girl friend for their first rock show. How this selfish guy realizes the value of life and helps others in need is this story's focus point.
Story 5: A mother and her father in law are off to Chennai to trade the mother's kidney and get the money that they owe to a money lender and redeem their son's education and future.
       All the characters meet in the climax at the hospital and they are all trapped by a set of Muslim terrorists. What the 2 lead men do to save the big crowd at the hospital is the culmination of this movie.

                                                                   
Hits

• Yuvan is as usual brilliant. The Vaanam title track appears at so very apt points of the movie and it brings tears in the eyes in the climax. 'Evan di Unna Pethan', 'No Money No Honey', 'Who Am I' have all been picturized well. Sadly 'Cable Raja' just comes in the background during STR''s intro scenes. Yuvan's BGM varies between good and brilliant. 
• Silambarasan makes a huge impact. Initially he is his breezy self but later he realizes life's value and repents for his act of stealing money. Top class emoting from STR
• All the others actors are very much adequate. Bharath is uber cool in his looks. Anushka is absolutely sexy and has a lot of oomph factor, particularly her height and shape. New face Jasmine glows and resembles Katrina Kaif in certain angles and is absolutely chubby, cherubic and cute. She too has got the oomph factor, particularly her bust. Prakash Raj sparkles at places. Saranya and the old man really look and play the part. The trans-gender also impresses. 
• Santhanam and Ganesh take care of the laughs along with STR and there are many nice moments during STR's attempts to get the 40000/- 
• The dialogs are really meaningful at places and make an impression. 
• Great attempt by the director Krish to take a rarely tried out concept 

Misses

• The Muslim terrorist angle is getting too clichéd. Krish should have avoided this in an otherwise fresh movie
• The climax melodrama is needless and sticks out sorely
• The bomb farce in the climax could have been avoided too

VERDICT

A very good movie that could have become a rainbow in the Tamil cine sky, with a more toned down climax. Anyway KUDOS to the entire team for giving us Vaanam.