AADHAVAN - PATHETIC EFFORT

AADHAVAN - ( TAMIL , 2009 )

Director : K.S. Ravikumar

Cast : Suriya , Nayanthara , Vadivelu , Saroja Devi

Director K.S.Ravikumar has a reputation for churning up masala movies , with all elements synonymous with Tamil Cinema : Stunts , fights , songs , comedy and sentiment. This one tries it's best to live up to the reputation , but ends up coming across as torture inflicted upon the viewers.

Aadhavan ( Suriya )is a hit-man , who is assigned the task of killing a Judge , but when the first attempt fails , is determined to finish the job in 10 days. We then see that Aadhavan ends up as a servant in the Judge's house , and tries to finish him off. Whether he kills the Judge or not is what the rest of the movie is all about.

The Judge lives with a huge , joint family , replete with cousins , aunts , uncles and numerous annoying children , along with Vadivelu a servant. Again something which can easily be related to mainstream Tamil Cinema. Nayanthara plays the role of Thara , the Judge's niece , who eventually is shown to be Aadhavan's love interest.

I frankly fail to understand how a movie can be made with many implausible incidents , all sewn together and thrown at the audience , through a very tough to endure course of time. Absolutely nothing goes in favor of the movie , making it the dampest squib in recent history.

The first half deals with Aadhavan trying his best to kill the Judge , working for Sayaji Shinde who is the king-pin of the gang , under orders from the actual beneficiary of the murder , Rahul Dev .Post interval the movie makes us believe Aadhavan is Madhavan , who happens to be the Judge's long-lost son , as revealed in a terrible flash-back sequence.

Twists and turns are so predictable in the movie , and you can easily guess what happens next . Whatever you expect might not turn up on-screen , as the story holds enough bizarre sequences , thanks to out of the box thinking.. A 10 year old kid shooting at his Dad , as a result of an even more pathetic sequence, in which the kid
decides to protect his friend's dad , who is alleged to be involved in making bombs ... The Kid running away and then grows on to become a goon , under Sayaji Shinde , whom the kid says resembles him of his father :( God , save us.. plz..

The joint family is least interesting and every character is annoying to say the least . Anu Haasan too is roped in to play a cameo role , in an unintentionally hilarious flashback . Saroja Devi's character is irritating , and only adds to the frustration . Vadivelu's comedy track is the least bit hilarious and hardly any laughs are expected.

Dozens of unwanted hogwash scenes are strewn all through the movie , in an effort to make an impact on the audience. There is an absolutely ridiculous song sequence , under the pretext of a stage show conducted impromptu in the Joint family. Another unwanted song under a tribal wedding guise .. I can go on and on about such roadblocks..

Screenplay is extremely erratic and only adds to the sorry state of affairs , and it hardly keeps the viewer interested in the story , in which I lost hope hardly midway into the first half itself.

Fights and stunts look straight out of a Vijay movie.. Aadhavan is treated more as a cross between Superman and Spiderman , rather than a human being.. He jumps from building to building , with extreme ease , and even more surprising is the fact that the Police too manage to keep pace with him . Even the world's best Parkour exponents must learn a lesson or two from Aadhavan .

The comedy sequences evoke zero laughs , and Vadivelu's jokes have absolutely no impact on the audience. The music is mediocre , except for the Hasili Fisili number , which I love , and frankly speaking I would have left the Theater if the song was played much earlier , but sadly , it turns up towards the end only.

Technically this movie seems to definitely have a very high production value , but what use , as it has to be supported by a strong storyline , which Aadhavan clearly lacks. The 10 year old kid is portrayed by Suriya , thanks to kiddish Computer effects .

Suriya's acting is reliable as always , but I seriously wonder why he choses to act in such movies. Nayanthara does nothing except smile sweetly throughout , and she is not the Nayanthara which many people like , and if you think a glamorous Nayan might make up for the terrible movie , sorry to say , I know this a public forum , but..there is nothing to excite the male viewer too.

The climax scene is definitely the piece de resistance , with all pun intended. Just picture this . Aadhavan tries to save Nayanthara and her uncle from Rahul Dev , who suspends them in a car high above the ground , with a crane. After a typical Kollywood fight , the villain shoots Aadhavan , in the heart , and any sane viewer would expect Aadhavan to die. Now , for the best part . There happens to be a petrol tank ( ?? ) in the fight location , which I am sure was a construction site initially . Alright , I can forgive certain creative liberties , but this takes the cake. A bullet hits the Petrol tank , and petrol leaks . Aadhavan miraculously recovers , from the Petrol vapors , even after being shot clearly in the heart . And what is even more shocking is that Nayanthara and her uncle talk to Aadhavan from very high above the ground , from the car . In the middle of all this there is a time bomb which is ticking , and I find it very hard to believe how this bomb was eventually placed on a flying helicopter by Aadhavan , when it was actually fitted onto the suspended car . Add to all this , the car falls down from high above the ground , and Nayanthara and her uncle survive . This climax is definitely an all time low for mainstream Tamil Cinema :( Honestly , the Director must have thought that the people paying money and watching this movie , are fools.

I cannot waste any more time in reviewing this movie , as I regret that the time taken to reach the theater and getting back home after watching the movie itself , is such a criminal waste of time.

1 out of 5 for this sorry excuse of a movie . The Producer and Director turn up in the very last scene and say " Thank You " . I say " Thank you both of you , for giving me an opportunity to blow up a hundred rupees on the movie ticket and for making me feel nauseated after watching your brainchild ."

Peraanmai started my Deepavali , and as my earlier post said , I felt my Deepavali was wasted . Now , thanks to Aadhavan , my Deepavali weekend is badly screwed up.

Even those flowers in the image accompanying this post were a waste of precious money .

Verdict : 1 / 5 ( Pathetic )