BEHINDWOODS COLUMN

Aindhu Aindhu Aindhu (555) jostled its way out as soon as the release of the much awaited Thalaivaa was postponed, shooting down the enthusiasms of plenty of the Ilayathalapathy fans.

I had been preparing myself for Thalaivaa at least for a good couple of weeks, and the sudden appearance of Aindhu Aindhu Aindhu left me completely blank on what to expect from the movie.

A film directed by Sasi, starring Bharath who had been working his heart out to get every part of his body sculpted. Considering Sasi’s previous movies such as ‘Roja Kootam’ and ‘Dishyum’, I was expecting a subtle romantic movie with a few action scenes involved.

But the sudden screech of a car that took off, going topsy-turvy in the air, even before the titles were displayed, took my mind off all that I had been expecting from the film. The following scenes kept us all cemented and ready to witness a good 120 minute romantic thriller.

After making Bharath undergo rigorous physical workout sessions during the filming of the movie, it appeared as though Sasi had turned to the audience giving us a mental workout all through the first half of the film. I appeared to be as confused as Bharath was in the movie. However, when the villain was revealed in a silhouetted shot, a few seconds before the end of the first half, the movie had brought down all the momentum it had built in me.

Another stereotyped villain who is responsible for all the confusion and drama yet again. I suddenly felt I was watching Vishal’s Samar. I was cleared of all the confusion that I shared with Bharath.

“It is going to have the usual clichéd Tamil movie structure, we all are very aware of,” I told myself. However, the scene that commenced immediately after the interval gave me a low voltage shock. Although the movie did follow the Tamil movie bible that is being worshipped for years, the scenes were engaging and did not seem mind-numbing at any point.

The neatly penned screenplay, with the flashback story being revealed little by little, did do the trick for Sasi. However, I felt a few places misled the audience, considering what was revealed in the later part of the movie.

The ‘cigarette’ episode for instance. If Bharath did not have a memory problem that the doctor and his brother were forced to make him believe he did have, then how did Bharath feel he was actually smoking? There was another scene where the doctor tells his brother that Bharath’s psychic state was getting better, following a few twists in the story. Why did the doctor have to console his brother, when they both knew that he did not have a problem? Especially when Bharath was not present in the frame.

I feel these little misleading events were the micro sized flaws in the screenplay, which is otherwise a scripted brilliance.

Although the romance scenes appeared very cinematic, they were good to watch. Actress Mrithika’s innocence and cute expressions enhanced the romance wave. The high shutter speed pictures edited brilliantly into neat clippings in the “Vizhiyile Vizhiyile” song is an idea that is praiseworthy.

Bharath’s hard work was very evident in the movie, especially the portions where his bad psychic states were portrayed. I felt the placement of the songs was inappropriate though. They completely spoilt the drive in the screenplay. The ‘rowdy girls’ song and the ‘Elavu’ song should not have been injected into the movie at all.

In a script packed with action and thrill, Santhanam did not have the space to unleash his comical counter repartees although Sasi did attempt to provide him a few scoring points, giving him a few combination scenes with Lollu Sabha Swaminathan. However, I felt those scenes could be avoided as well, because they appeared to be separate comedy tracks which had no connection with the film.

The villain appeared to be the usual ruthless person we are all bored of watching over and over again. The director scrapes us through ‘honor killing’ in a tiny flashback tale of the villain. The portrayal of a little more depth in the villain’s love tale would have justified his desperation better.

The action packed second half with a few surprises that appear in irregular intervals does keep the movie going. The movie is technically brilliant with neat edit cuts by editor Subarak and creative visuals by the Cinematographer Saravanan Abimonyu.

I must say, I did not feel bored at any point, although I had to wait for a few minutes whenever a song, irrelevant to the story, popped up. It was like watching a movie on television with commercial breaks in between.

Having said all that, Aindhu Aindhu Aindhu is definitely a must watch movie, considering the tremendous work Bharath has chipped in, and the vigor in the script.