Aaranya Kaandam

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.

The director said in an interview that he is a huge fan of Godfather movie. He succeeded in making a gangster movie of such class in Tamil movie industry. A noir film in Tamil language and its first of its kind. The movie has a screenplay neatly written of sheer class added dialogs with profane languages as in real underworld. It has no songs but the bgm fits like a glove to the pace of the movie. You listen to lot of 80's sensual/party Tamil songs playing as FM Radio in the background added a page to the novelty in script/screenplay.

I'd give a full 10/10 for the movie except for few spoofs like a scene in which a bike's head lamps and mirrors unbroken after the rider gets hit. Also, I find some of the Tarantino's flavor in this movie with scenes like the don asking one of his trusted men to babysit (date) his girlfriend (as in Pulp Fiction)and another scene in which many characters sit around a table discussing about celebrities (from Reservoir dogs first scene). The whole ambiance reminded me of Pulp Fiction, yet I love this movie because am a Tamilian.

The bottom lines : (1) Get the unrated version and Do watch it (Cuz , the rated version edits all the good scenes) (2) MOVIE NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN/SENSITIVE Audience.

"Aaranya Kaandam" is a story about drug trafficking and unfolds over a duration of 24 hours. The movie is based on the significant moments in the lives of the seven leading characters. It is supposedly the first new-noir film in Tamil cinema. This was one of the most awaited movies for me and it was released after almost a year of tribulations with the censor board. It won the Grand Jury award in South Asian International Film Festival last year.

The film is about narcotics and a convoluted rivalry between Singaperumal (Jackie Shroff), Gajendran (Rambo Rajkumar) and Pasupathi (Sampath Raj) attempts to grab it. The Director, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, builds up a nice tempo and takes his own time to build and establish each character.

Jackie Shroff in the character of dreadful Singam Perumal has performed outstandingly. His performance was close to perfection in many scenes, every scene of his brimming with reality.Ravi Krishna has been given a complete image makeover when compared to his earlier ventures. He has improved his acting skills a lot and portrayed emotions well on screen. Ravikrishna as Sappa ( a metaphor of fun, impotence, illiteracy…etc) will be remembered as one of the most interesting roles in his career. Sampath Raj did well and his body language, dialogue delivery boosts the mood of the film. In his intro-scene, his voice was so manly that it gave me goosebumps. He was at his best, performing with perfection throughout. Yasmeen Ponnappa is tailor-made for the character of Subbu (Subbulakshmi). Somasundaram, Rambo Rajkumar, Ajay Raj are adequate. Another character worthy of mention is the boy Kodukapuli ("Veyil" Vasanth) who deserves appreciation for his acting. His (kodukapuli) chemistry with Somasundaram (kaalayan) was highly impressive. Vinod's camera has captured the darker sides of city life well and his sense of lighting has worked wonders in bringing the right mood. Yuvan Shankar Raja has given us fantastic re-recording and background score which gave the right feel. He deserves all the praises he's been getting since the release of the film. The use of old songs in the background for some scenes that depict the mood in the scene is smart (don't know whether it was director's idea or Yuvan's) .Editing by the duo Praveen K. L. and N. B. Srikanth are crisp.

It is certainly not a movie for children or family audiences, for its highly stylised violence (Quentin Tarantino-ish) and abusive language. Thiagarajan Kumararaja has made a mighty impressive debut with a tight screenplay and superb dialogue writing. Even though many critics felt the film to be slow, I felt editing even a single scene would have dramatically brought down the effect on the audiences. Even though there were a large number of foul mouthed dialogues, they blended well with the screenplay. Others were voluntarily beeped by the team. The casting was simply perfect and acting was impeccable.

"Aaranya Kaandam" was a classy gangster tale and the way it has been conceptualized, executed definitely needs recognition. Hope Aaranya Kaandam becomes a trend setter for the new movies to come. Thiagarajan Kumararaja is a rare find and kudos to SP Charan and Capital film works for bringing him in to the realm of Tamil Cinema. Producer SPB Charan's bravery should be appreciated for producing such films (Previous CHENNAI-600028). He struggled a lot for releasing the film. #Alwaysrespect .But the sad part of Tamil cinema is that brilliant efforts like this are hardly noticed as it does not have the required masala ingredients packaged in it.

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

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.