Young actor Arulnithi has been doing films under different genres. This time he has teamed up with director Arivazhagan who has given critically acclaimed hit films under 'Eeram' and 'Vallinam'. It may not be the coincidence that these two films fall under entirely different genres o f horror and sports drama. The duo had teamed up for the remake of super hit Malayalam thriller 'Memories'. Let’s see how they have come out with their first remake thriller.
Aravind (Arulnithi) is an ex-cop who has lost his wife (Aishwarya Rajesh) and daughter to the wrath of enemies. He becomes a drunkard and leads an aimless life. In the same city three different men are murdered. The commonality between these three murders is that they are married, there corpses are left in a open space in a way that looks like they are crucified, a few days after they went missing.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Radharavi) who is also Aravind's well-wisher wants him to take up the investigation of these murders and nab the culprit as he feels , this will breathe fresh air into his reluctant life. Aravind takes up the case after his mother's (Thulasi) insistence.
Aravind starts investigating and finds a few other similarities between the three murdered men and the way they are murdered. The rest his how successfully detects all the hidden details, connects all the hints, and finds the motive behind the murders and nabs murderer.
The film starts with a failed encounter of the hero. Then the film hero's problem and his past are revealed in non-linear narrative. Simultaneously the murders and police investigation are shown. Once the protagonist takes up the case, the film starts gripping the viewer. The scene in which the hero gets the clue about the murderer's identity with just a look at a crime scene, brilliantly serves the purpose of establishing that the investigation has gone into the hands of clever and effective cop and the solution is not far away.
The interval block sets the tone for a tight thriller ride as the hero discovers another interesting connection between the victims. The second half is filled with the hero's investigation, without any deviation and the entire half keeps us glued to the screen. There are no logical loopholes and cinematic liberties. A song comes in between but that does not hamper the narration. There is only one fight scene that comes in the climax and you get to see the villain only in the pre-climax.
This way, Arivazhagan as the writer and director (Story by Jeethu Joseph) has succeeded in giving a thriller that is highly engaging and also packs some surprises. The emotional content also makes an impact and never goes melodramatic. The director should be appreciated for being loyal to the genre by keeping commercial compromises minimal and the film is predominantly gripping.
Even the first half makes an interesting watch expect for a few repetitive scenes about the hero’s memories of his wife and the attempts to make us laugh that do not work out well
The script also convincingly portrays how a drunkard is roped in after a long gap into the police investigation of series of murders. This is done only after answering the questions raised by media and the Home Secretary. The writer has resisted taking cinematic liberty at a place where many would easily do that.
As the hero is shown as a drunkard, it is a praiseworthy idea to place a song against liquor drinking ,using a few couplets from Thirukkural and this has been beautifully ingrained into the narration.
Arulnithi is impeccable in the role and emotes well. Radharavi as a senior cop gives his best for the role. Aishwarya Dutta as a young journalist makes a mark with the limited scope for her character. Charlie, Thulasi,Anupama Kumar and Bose Venkat are adequate in their respective roles. Robot Shankar as a 'not so intelligent' cop is used for comedy and manages to raise a few guffaws here and there. But we could not help feeling that the scenes allocated for this purpose are a little redundant in a thriller flick like this.
Aishwarya Rajesh is impressive in her cameo. Gowraw Narayanan fits the role offered to him but he could have emoted better in the only scene in which he had to.
Thaman's re-recording is highly effective in pushing the thrill factor. There are only two songs and both the songs are likeable. Aravind Singh's cinematography gives us the feel of being in a Madurai and south Tamil Nadu localities and the excessive night scenes should have been a challenge. Editing of Rajesh Kannan is neat in the second half but first have could have been a little crisper. Dhilip Subburayan’s stunt scene in the climax fits the requirement.
Verdict: 'Aarathu Sinam' is a thriller that cannot be missed.
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