Airaa - A new attempt in the horror genre

Nayanthara the reigning queen bee of Kollywood and the only female star with box office clout has joined hands with the impressive filmmaker Sarjun who attracted attention through the intense short films 'Lakshmi' and 'Maa'.  Whether this new attempt at the horror film genre will strike a chord with the audiences remains to be seen.

Yamuna (Nayanthara) a Chennai journalist decides to start a YouTube channel and goes to her ancestral village house in Pollachi to make fake ghost videos as a starting point for her business.  Her grandmother Kullapulli Leela and cousin Mani (Yogi Babu) help Yamuna in her work but soon spooky things begin to happen there and confusion shrouds whether it is real or a orchestrated.  Else where Amudhan (Kalaiarasan) begins to experience several murders around him (all dying by falling off from a height).  What is the connection between Yamuna and Amudhan and who really is the spirit involved forms the rest of the screenplay.

Its Nayanthara show in every frame and her fans will not be disappointed one bit.  For a relatively new character of a YouTuber, Nayan just has to be herself and goes through the motions.  On the other hand to nail Bhavani the Lady Superstar has done a lot of hardwork and in spite of some bad makeup has given an earnest performance as an unfortunate woman and her pitiable soul.  Kalaiarasan is one of the finest character actors around today who easily gets under the skin of Amudhan and makes a mark till the very end.  Gabriella Sellus is perfect as the young Bhavani and actually defines the character while Matheevan is also a good choice for a younger Amudhan.  Yogi Babu for the first time in a while disappoints with none of his counters working.  Jayaprakash, Meera Krishnan and especially Kulappulli Leela are quite artificial due to cliched characterizations.

What works best in 'Airaa' is the reason that the ghost takes revenge on nine unconnected people which is very new to Tamil cinema.  Though badly written overall there is redemption in showing an unfortunate village girl who is deemed unlucky from her very birth and constantly shamed by all around her for her appearance and color. There is no doubt that she will surely become a desolate spirit and her revenge though unfair is justified.  In the latter part of the second half, the backstory of Bhavani and the performances of the lead pair hold the viewer's attention.

On the downside, the first half takes ages to set up the story with many a superfluous and cliched sequences following one after another.  And finally, when the real emotional episode arrives too late it fails to make the impact its intended to.   The heroine trying to make fake ghost videos further dilutes the core of the story and the parallel plot line of Amudhan also does not hold any key moments to savour.  The poor computer graphics of especially the butterflies is another deterrent.  The lookalike ghostbusters in the climax and another Swamiji who communicates with the spirit by making varma kalai like finger movements provide some unintended smiles.

Sundaramoorthy K.S fills the background score with bass strings and succeeds in creating the eerie sounds that save the mediocre moments. The song "Meghathoodham' penned by Thamarai touches the heart and its picturization also is done well.  Cinematographer Sudharshan Srinivasan has favored a red palate instead of the usual horror template of blue shades which is neatly done but does not help to enhance the spooks or the emotions.  The Bhavani portions in black and white serve the twin purposes of aiding the dark emotions and also hiding the, on your face makeup (Pun Intended!) .  Editor Karthik Jogesh and the art director are the are .  KJR Studios has bankrolled 'Airaa' and with the Lady Superstar in the fore, they have a safe bet on the hand.  Priyanka Ravindran has been credited with the writing which is there in a few scenes and missing in the rest.  The less said about the dialogues the better.  Director Sarjun who burst onto the scene with his two shorts stated in an interview that horror is out of his comfort zone and it does show in 'Airaa'  where he scores in the intense flashback and climax portions.

Verdict : Go for the two different Nayanthara performances and the new take on the horror genre