Expectations started to grow once the movie was announced and the initial posters which was designed on the theme of graphic novel style, captured the attention of cinema goers. After a lengthy post-production, as well as the 'war' with the censor board, Aaranya Kaandam finally got released with less cuts.. Thank GOD for that. The following trailers and teasers really intrigued the audiences who were expecting a different film from débutante Thiagarajan Kumararaja. Aaranya Kaandam is the first neo-noir film to come out in Tamizh cinema and judging from the teasers, it's very obvious the director is very much inspired by Quentin Tarantino and Alejandro González Iñárritu style of film making. For those who watches this film, they will fall into two categories. Either they hate it for wasting their time or love it with a big grin on their faces.
The film is ably supported by fantastic acting by all the 6 protagonists. Starting of with Jackie Shroff. The veteran has shined in this film and he has done it effortlessly. Be it the agony of not able to make love to his mistress, or the attempts to learn English, delivering humor dialogues and expressions, he has brilliantly performed the role of an ageing gangster head akin to a old Lion. The initial scene of him checking himself out on the mirror and baring his teeth is the proof of this metaphor. Besides that, the scene where he gives some money to Ravi Krishna and then pulling back a note, and the final scene of him in his room after the shower are the highlights. It would have been great if he dubbed for himself. Sampath, as the simple and daring/smart henchman is at his best. His voice modulation was good especially for the chasing scenes and the tea shop with his fellow henchmen. Besides that the performance in the final action scene was brilliant as well. Ravi Krishna, surprises everyone with a stunning performance as Sappai. As the weakling, he draws the sympathy of the audiences and also performed very well especially in the scenes showing his vulnerability. Somasundaram and Master Vasanth as the father-son duo was eccentric and marvelous. Somasundram was too good in his role as the loud-and-foul mouthed loser and his dialogue delivery was hilarious especially in the rooster-fight sequence. Master Vasanth showed lots of maturity in handling a complex role and kudos for him to pull it of in a such young age. The highlight of their relationship was the affection between both father and son which was covered all the while in their arguments and bickering squabbles. The final scene of Master Vasanth is the testimony to this. Yasmin Ponnappa, the débutante did a good job as the naive mistress and her dialogue delivery with a modulation style of her own is good. All the other co-artists gave out restrained and cool performances without no over reacting and exaggeration.
Technically the film delivers high quality results. Cinematography by Mumbai based PS Vinod was very natural with no artificial lighting and the angles chosen was apt for the film which was gloomy and dark, highlighting the underworld. Editing by Praveen K.L and N.B Srikanth is smooth and they should be applauded for the editing of the chase sequences which had fantastic sound engineering as well. Stunts by Dilip Subbarayan was superb and the climax fight sequence deserves a big applause from the audience. Violence has never been captured 'beautifully' in Tamizh cinema so far. Yuvan Shankar Raja, was absolutely fantastic in his background score which was very pleasant, different and unique and it really complemented the scenes very, very well. After Illaiyara and AR Rahman, it's Yuvan he does brilliant background score in Tamizh cinema. The melodious scores, though contrasts with the violent scenes action scenes, elevates and 'beautifies' the shots. Bravo to Yuvan!!
Thiagarajan Kumararaja should be appreciated for delivering an international class film. It is experimental in nature which might not work for normal audiences who just wants to have some good time, but it satisfies the thirst of different film lovers. His script was solid with no hiccups and he should be applauded for not making any changes to it and for fighting with the censor boards for getting the film released with no cuts. His dialogues are a class apart and it's loaded with lurid details and also with awesome dark humor which rarely gets shown in Tamizh cinema. The "Kamal-Rajni" episode, the Gajendra and Gajapathy narration by Sampath, the banter between Somasundaram and Master Vasanth as well as the wailing of Somasundram, are loaded with dark humor which really makes people to smile cheekily. Not to forget, his dialogues were of high intelligence and are true gems for examples, the comparison of wearing dhotis between the rich and the poor, a woman's point of view of being a woman, the "worm-fish-man" explanation, the love of a son for his father, the flawed identity of human nature and the also highlighting the point that an enemy's enemy is a friend but more important, they are still enemies. These are the biggest highlights of the film. Besides that, Kumararaja should be appreciated for bringing out the best from his actors and that is due to the near immaculate characterizations of the artistes and framing of scene sequences. The film is a bit sluggish in it's pace but as the film progressed, that sluggishness turns out to be the best choice in moving the film. A special thanks to him for incorporating classic 80's period songs, which really adds zing to the film. The simple title credits and the beautiful and metamorphosis-tic title of the film, are the indications of the director's brilliance.
Aaranya Kaandam, a rare film in Tamizh cinema and kudos to the SPB Charan for coming up with this daring and experimental film, which leaves the cinema lovers, smack their head and feeling "Damn, that was cool".
BY:TAMIL
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