Aayirathil Oruvan
This Chola period story is related as taking place in 800 A.D. The Cholas steal the family deity of the Pandiyas and keep it in a place near Vietnam. Reima Sen’s family has been searching for that for generations. In the meantime, there is no trace of the Andrea’s father Prathap Pothan, the Archeology professor who went to Vietnam. Andrea’s family has been searching for him and Reima Sen requests them to help her family in their search for the family deity. They employ several handymen to help them in their search. Karthi is the leader of the group of handymen. Karthi who has been an ardent fan of M.G.R. endears himself to the audience in the first half of the film through his expressive acting. The scenes where in his hunger Karthi sees a vision of food when the flavour of food that comes in the air makes him salivate and singing M.G.R. songs appropriate to the situations are really enjoyable. When Reima Sen feels chill, Karthi asks her to embrace him to absorb his body heat. These are the scenes in the first half that make us enjoyable.
When they set about searching for Andrea’s father and the family deity, they are confronted with some unexpected and supernatural forces that take the lives of some of their group. Finally did Andrea recover the deity in the kingdom of Chola king Parthiban and did Reima trace her father? The film starts sagging after the interval. We can’t follow what Selvaraghavan is trying to tell us and where the screenplay is going. The audience can’t relate to many events that happen in the film. Reima Sen passing urine in a pot and mixing some power in it is beyond audience’s appreciation. Did Cholas eat human meat? Several questions remain unanswered.
When the film came to an end it looked like it was just the middle. Adding more confusion Selvaraghavan says that Chola’s journey continues. Will they find another one (Ravindran) in a thousand? The new techniques adopted in the film somehow look as inappropriate.
The forest shots and the shots of the port are spectacular. The song ‘ummele aasaithan’ is exciting. The number of junior artists is beyond belief. What is the purpose of having a big producer and a celebrated director if the story and screenplay are not big? It is just a waste.
