VISITOR COLUMN

Thats how I would put it after watching Arambam.

 

Right from the director, story and screenplay writers, music director - everyone has cheated Ajith by delivering a movie called Arambam. And trust me, we are talking about big names here and not just any Tom, Dick and Harry.

 

I went to watch Arambam with huge expectations just like any other fan of cinema. But I could not digest the fact that it was a poor output and I am not even referring to the logic of the story here. We all know about Ajith's real-life personality and no introduction is needed for that. And if you ask me, it is this quality that has been misused by many in the film fraternity.

 

What was the director thinking?

 

We all know that Ajith looks smart in uber cool dress with the coolers. But how many times would you like to show that in a movie? In the second half of the movie, I saw atleast 5 times within a span of 5 minutes that Ajith takes his glasses out from his shirt and wears it and that too, during the serious portions of the movie. This was totally unwarranted. And there was this scene where a cop asks Ajith to accompany him for an investigation and he holds Ajith by his hand. Ajith gives a stare back at him. This particular shot was not required at all. It gives a false image on Ajith. I mean, he is being called for an enquiry and as a law-abiding citizen, he should accompany the cops and it was not that the cop was trying to pull him or something. He was just holding his hand. I understand that this shot was taken to please the fans of Ajith, but if you are a lover of cinema, you will hate it.

 

What were the writers thinking?

 

I cant imagine its the same writer duo who penned the movie Ko. Such a contrast. There is nothing novel in the story. Yes, it does talk about a scam, but I think, the duo could have improvised the story in a much better way. It was as if the entire movie was made just for one person - AJITH. And frankly, even Ajith wouldn't have noticed it, considering his nature.

 

What was the music director thinking?

 

Is this the same person who gave a splendid BGM to MANKATHA? Cant believe. Leave out the songs, the BGM was pathetic and he kept repeating the same score whenever Ajith entered the screen. I can understand if it was restricted only to introductory scenes of Ajith, but the same score was played even when Ajith was taken for enquiry by a cop. That was totally unwarranted. It sounded as if the music director ran out of options (or) he just stuck to his score just to please Ajith's fans.

 

I see that in the last couple of days, some negative reviews are coming for this movie from the public and understandbly so. I even read that Ajith himself was not pleased about the movie.

 

One request to the people who are planning to rope in Ajith for their movies - Please remember that Ajith is not a starry person and he is very open to doing somethings which others will not even dream of. He is a very good actor and please give him an opportunity to showcase his acting skills, rather than making him walk in a slow-mo with his coolers on. Venkat Prabhu is one of the very few directors who used Ajith exceptionally well. The only other director whom I can recollect is K S Ravikumar, who kept giving Ajith the crucial breaks in terms of VILLAIN, VARALAARU. Of course, S J Suryah gave Ajith the biggest break in terms of VAALI, but after which the director in S J Suryah was lost. Because Ajith is very simple in nature, very accommodating,  very helpful, please DO NOT use him as a scapegoat and give films like ARAMBAM. I am sure that most of the actors in that movie accepted to act because it had Ajith in it and not because of the director or for the script, which of course was not there.

 

The reason why its even more painful because, in reality, Ajith is a very good human being and to see someone exploit him for the sake of earning money hurts a lot. I am sure that if this movie had not got Ajith in it, then it would have been declared as a FLOP the very first day. Ajith has done things which no actor had the guts to do - right from playing characters which match his age, dismantling his fan clubs at the peak of his career, removing the ULTIMATE STAR title and the list goes on. So, the directors and script writers should understand that Ajith is ready to do any kind of roles which has a substance and make movies which has some meaning to it. Even commercial movies can be made in a meaningful manner and if Ajith gets to act in a out and out commercial movie which is very well taken, then why complain? As long as Ajith is not cheated, its fine. In turn, his fans and even the lovers of cinema will not be cheated.