A huge palace, a couple of hot ladies, an unusual family; ring a bell? Waking up to a horrific dream, only to find parts of it real? Sounds familiar? Well, these are mandatory for a Horror movie so lets stop worrying about their etymology. Sundar C’s Aranamanai gets going with all the above said sequences, only to pull the sock up in a quirky way. Comedy and Horror has become the USP, and has tempted even the likes of Sundar C to draft a movie out of it. His movies are never complete without an ensemble cast and so are Aranmanai with Hansika, Andrea, Vinay, Santhanam, Kovai Sarala, Manobala and along with them is the director himself. So what’s so scary about Aranmanai? Let’s find out

Storyline:

From the days of Ullathai Allitha, Sundar C has majestically carved himself as the king of light hearted and family humor and one has to wonder how he still manages to do so. Aranmanai’s story is not something out of the box and as you might have guessed, it’s about a palace that is up for sale and what follows is a series of spine chilling murders, scary images that taunt the inmates.

The movie’s storyline is quite predictable and gets to a point where we sit scratching for something that genuinely scares the gut out. The first half makes up with horror and comedy doing shuttle service as every frame spans out, and once the “Ghost” theme is established, the audience is made to wait for a second half with the entry of “Selvi” and the flashback.

The Goodies:

The film works as a whole starting with a big boost from the cast. Through the first half, Santhanam’s comedy takes the audience on a laughter coaster, his one liner, body languages and gimmicks are too good reminding us that he is still a comedian at heart. Sundar C has made the best use out of the leading ladies Raai Laxmi, Andrea and Hansika, but it’s Andrea who steals the show with a stellar performance. This movie has kicked open the doors of some good acting from the already established singer.

The saying “Old Wine in a new bottle” might fit Aranmanai with Sundar C’s narration and screenplay helping the movie out of its predictable script. The film has the commercial signature all over with humor taking the front seat, the scary moments just huffing and puffing behind. Overall the VFX gets its share of scare, and then fizzes out with some average CGI. Cinematography is just apt for a scary movie, some panning out well and some not.

Why, How and What:

For once the length of the movie is a yawning 160 minutes and post second half, it takes toll on the audience as they are left waiting for either humor or some scary moments. Some nagging questions that pops out;

1. Hansika’s role looks more like an extended cameo, could have etched better at least through the climax sequences.

2. Alright, it’s a horror cum comic flick, but one thing that spices the scary sequences are some spine shuddering BGM; whereas Aranmanai’ s music is very mediocre.

3. Quite a number of predictable “Ghost Moments”, the element of surprise is not served.

4. Editing and Dubbing gets awry with some of the scenes cut off even before its completion.

5. The entire movie is set around the Palace which is just grandiose, however after a point just appears artificial.

You might want to criticize the movie even further, however in the end the film entertains as a whole with some rib tickling humor which is what the movie goers would want.

Verdict : Not too high on frightening moments, but entertains thoroughly.