It is not often that we see films that do away with the requisites of Indian cinema; i.e. songs, a comedy track, a romance, fights and a family background for all the characters. Aduthathu has a bit of all this, but its focus is firmly on one plot. It is the kind of thing that we are more used to seeing in English movies. We have had a few Tamil movies that have tried similar things and Aduthathu joins that list as another film that has tried a different kind of cinema. Trying is one thing, how has it come out?

Aduthathu shows 10 people being taken to an uninhabited island for a TV reality show. The ‘survivor’ gets to walk away with a huge cash award. The 10 are on the island and events unfold. It is hard not to notice similarities to many Hollywood thrillers that we have seen before, but this one does not look like a rip-off from any of them; it retains its originality. Coming back to the plot; the 10 realize that all is not well on the island and that the ‘survivor’ game is becoming serious business. Disappearance of the contestants one by one adds to the consternation, and no one is clear as to how or why this is happening. And, that is when they realize the most important fact of the entire episode – are they in a reality show?

Aduthathu wants to prey on the suspense created in the viewers’ minds when contestants start disappearing and dying mysteriously. The maker is right; we do want to know what is going on. But, he really prolongs the suspense for too long. Anyone who has watched a few such movies will be able to make a not-too-wrong guess about the mystery after a while and that spoils the party for the movie. That apart, there are certain repetitive manipulative techniques which make us tired, like the groaning background music and wide-angle shots. Also, the casting could have been more appropriate. You have actors like Arthi who have a comic image attached to them. The script is not strong enough to override that image and hence the plot loses a bit of its grip. Also, there have been a few attempts at comedy using Arthi, which are extremely unnecessary and very boring. That apart, when the final mystery is revealed, one expects a bit more detailed explanation about how the whole thing was executed, rather than a few shots. The flashback shown of each character, is, however interesting.

Aduthathu is a movie that wants to ride on suspense throughout. It does quite well in that respect, but the script gets its timing wrong when it comes to unravelling the suspense and that is a major drawback. Otherwise, Aduthathu is a film of limited means, and it is not fair to expect it to come up with great action sequences or sets. Within its limitations, Aduthathu is a product that might satisfy hard-core thrill seekers, and also one movie that (to a fair extent) goes outside the bounds of commercial Tamil cinema.

Verdict: Suspense thriller – good effort within limited means