Aaranya Kaandam

I stopped short of giving this movie a 10/10 rating solely because of it's somewhat glorified portrayal of violence, other than that this is one heck of a movie which should have ideally been a milestone in modern Tamil cinema but fell short of achieving that landmark solely because it didn't have 1. Big stars in the movie 2. Big production house 3. Promotions (This movie virtually had no promotions at all) 4. Big technical Crew (Apart from Yuvan Shankar Raja of course)

Here by BIG i imply established popular personnel. This movie had excellent technical values compared to the garbage dished out in the name of commercial cinema every other day and you have to see the movie for yourself to believe what a movie you have missed. The techniques used by the director to portray certain intense situations, the way the characterization is done, the way the movie is kept moving at a break-neck speed, The way the director makes us anticipate even clichéd scenes by smart editing techniques and many more should be watched by yourself to believe it and appraise the excellence! People should endorse such HONEST and INTELLIGENT attempts so that others too would come out and try new things or at least director Thiagarajan Kumararaja would come up with a new project (as of now he is not committed to any new project even after crafting a masterpiece like Aaranya Kaandam!).

I usually don't write reviews, because I feel, the reviews of a film I have watched which are already available are true and I couldn't write better.

But this time, I've decided to step it up and write a review because I feel, this movie deserves one and the reviews out there are good but very few indeed.

So, Aaranya Kaandam written and directed by first timer Thiagarajan Kumararaja and produced by S.P.Charan's Capital Film Works is an experimental gangster flick to say the least. But that's just the style of the film but to state the goodness of the film, I think it should be among the top films of the year because it keeps you entertained till the very end. For those who have been following this film from the time it won the grand Jury award at the South Asian Film Festival, you would know the difficulties this film had undergone pre-release. Frankly speaking, I was not surprised to see the vacant seats in the theater because this film is clearly for mature audience and lover of pure- cinema and not for the masses.

To start with the plot, it is a simple story about a gangster head Singaperrumal, played with class by yest year heartthrob, Jackie Shroff on a conflict which arises with his senior henchman, Pasupathy,once again played superbly by Sampath Raj on a dealing of cocaine and several other parallel tracks and motives. As the trailer correctly stated, it is about the decisions each of the six protagonists make and how it affects the plot.

There is no single-hero in this film, but if I were to select a hero, I would definitely give it to the superb script by the director. The director has avoided all clichés and given us a somewhat unpredictable film. The dialogue especially is very simplistic, at the same time realistic and humorous at times. The climax is hard hitting and definitely not expected.

I am not sure if You can call this film as a noir, but the lighting and camera suggests so. Commendable camera work by P.S.Vinod and editing by Praveen and Srikanth keeps the film's raciness and edginess to it.

One of the biggest advantages of the film is the music by the always dependable Yuvan Shankar Raja which has a Kill-Bill feel to it. Avoiding Ear impairing background and giving us a more mature score, Yuvan has not disappointed us and coping up for the lack of songs(i dint want them though).

This film has Tarantino written all over it. With the quirkiness, Dark tone and the parallel story lines, this film takes its time to unfold which is sort of an advantage and disadvantage at the same time. I had a lot of expectations for this film and I wasn't disappointed. Though it gets predictable at times, for the most part its ahead of you.

In the acting department, everyone has an important role to play and everyone has done a neat job with special mention to the son played by the Master Vasanth who has done his role without any hesitation.

In the words of my idol, I'm going with 3 and a half out of five for Aaranya Kaandam. It is only for the mature audiences and it puts Tamil Cinema back on track at the global stage.

So what is Aaranya Kandam about, Experimental film? Tamil cinema's first Neo-noir film ? A Gangster flick? A Dark comedy? It's all of the above. The movie is the first Neo-noir in Tamil cinema. Well, Kumararaja can be called the Guy Ritchie of Tamil Cinema or the Tarantino of Tamil cinema. Aranya Kandam is gangster flick that takes its own time to unfold supported by technical elements in the film. However, all of the movies elements are overpowered by performances, everyone in the frame have lived their roles. The movie stars Jackie Shroff as Singaperumal,Ravi Krishna as Sappai,Sampath Raj as Pasupathy,Yasmin Ponnappa as Subbu,Somasundaram as Kaalayan, Master Vasanth as Kodukapuli,Rambo Rajkumar as Gajendran. With so many characters you may wonder, who is the protagonist? Well, the question has no answers.

Performances carry the film be it Jackie sharoff as the venomous impotent Singam perumal or the naive Ravi Krishna (one of his better performances) or Kodukapuli's father Somasundaram all have done a commendable job. Especially Somasundaram is able to tickle ribs even at nail biting situations with his performance and dialogue delivery. Sampath as always fits in the role of an ambitious gangster effortlessly. Then there is Yasmin Ponnappa, the dumb-blonde like in the movie with her sheepish grin is also brilliant. It almost a pitch perfect cast and Thiagarajan Kumararaja has done well with dialogues, which are clever and has a sense of humor. As the plot unfolds it's a cat and mouse story, where all that the characters are looking for are Freedom,money,power and cocaine.

Rajini pudikuma? illa Kamal pudikuma? – SP Charan the producer has tweeted that Kamalhassan loves the movie. That is enough reason for movie buffs to go watch the film. Thiagarajan Kumararaja has taken the harder route of opting out of songs in a 2 hour movie. However, the background score is enjoyable, though the sounds are influenced by various world movies Yuvan Shankar Raja produces a truly enjoyable score in the movie. The cinematography is good, with many unusual placements of camera angle and low-key lighting. If you are a Rajini fan then you will like the movie, if you are a Kamal fan you will love the movie.

Overall, Aaranya Kandam is whole new experience in Tamil cinema with a good plot and a twist in the movie. The movie is overpowered by performances from all characters in the movie supported by enjoyable music and cinematography.

A bizarre trailer, a debut director, award-winner of an international film festival, a battle with the censor board and a college dropout- these elements being attached to the film made me hope for nothing short of great. If a person believed so much in his craft, he was probably an anarchist who followed his own set of rules and that kind of a person obviously wouldn't be restricted by the boundaries of Tamil Cinema.

Aaranya Kaandam's director Thiagarajan Kumararaja uses his technical crew in all possible ways. Being the competent crew that they are, they comply. The film is so unconventional that despite the excellent work of the cinematographer (Vinod), editors (Praveen K L and N B Srikanth) and the music director (Yuvan Shankar Raja), none of their individual contributions stand out. It was teamwork and you praise the man who has directed them into completion. Thiagarajan has a clear-cut vision- the characters, their quirks, their looks and their distinct speech styles. Lacing terror with scornful humour, Aaranya Kaandam leaves its viewers with mixed emotions. The gang wars that are shot in stop-motion have classical music playing in the background giving them the poetic touch intended and bring out the beauty of the scenes, even though they're blood lusted. The low-key lighting and the dubious backdrop make Aaranya Kandam the morbid labyrinth it wants to be.

Full review- http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/6425/tamil/aaranya- kandam/3150/review.htm

Aaranya Kaandam (2011) : Brief Review -

The Biggest Achievement of Tamil Cinema and Indian Cinema in Neo-Noir-Crime-Thriller Genre. Equally Classy as those Famous British Crime-Dramas. This crime thriller genre was mixed into anthology by British Cinema and all those known films from 90s and 2000s decade enjoy cult following. Many Filmmakers from different film industries in India have tried to adapt the those Classics but could only manage to make sort of watchable films. I remember watching 'Ludo' recently, which recieved overwhelming praise but actually the film was nothing great. It's just that the mass audience in India haven't seen classy crime dramas made in foreign cinema so even mediocre stuff sounds great to them. I experienced the same with extremely popular 'Vada Channai' but i don't understand so special about that film. Maybe the same reason again. So, basically my point was these overrated films have recieved immense praise undeserving and then we have film like 'Aaranya Kaandam' which isn't even watched by sensible audience, forget mass audience. What the heck is wrong with our audience? It's not just about this film but there are so many low budget films which are far better than those so called big budget classics. Watch Aaranya Kaandam and you'll forget all the crime anthologies/noirs made in India, i guarantee that. It is such a brilliant piece of filmmaking. What an intelligent crafting and top quality execution it has. All the actors have done their best, the theme dark and interesting, the screenplay is engaging, cinematography and editing is top class and there are few unpredictable turnarounds too. What else do want from one film in 115 minutes? Kudos to Thiagarajan Kumararaja for proving that even Indian cinema can make high quality crime thrillers like British Cinema. Don't Miss It!

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.