I don’t remember the last time I woke up before the sunrise. But today I got up at around 5 in the morning, took bath and got ready. Reason, not being Pongal. I was leaving home to watch the first day first show of the most awaited movie “Aayirathil Oruvan”.
Being an ardent fan of Selvaraghavan, there is always something in his movie that attracts me to the theatre. Be it unfolding a love, describing the delicate relationship between a boy and a girl or scanning through a life of a gangster, Selva is exemplary in showcasing it to the audience.
A lot of hype has been created by the film fraternity & media about this movie especially because it is a Selvaragavan’s movie and the numerous delay's in releasing the movie. Now I have all the more reason to get excited about watching this film.
I would like to move away from the storyline and talk about the few aspects of the movie. First and foremost is CINEMATOGRAPHY. The camera angles and the lightings are brilliant. The mountains, Thick Forests, Streams and Deserts of Jaisalmer are all a visual treat.
Second is the ART DIRECTION. Most of the film depicting the lives of the Chola Dynasty has been shot using the sets. These sets look so real that it takes us to their world.
Third is the SHADES used. Early mornings, late evenings, Mountains, Desert, Chola Hideouts have all been shown with great colour.
Stunts have been pictured wonderfully. I guess few sequences have been emulated from Hollywood flicks yet they are appealing.
If you shoot out a question like who is the hero of AO? In split seconds I will come up with two names. Selvaragavan & Reema Sen.
Even though the film seems to test one’s patience for 3 ¼ hours, I think selva had little control over it.
As I was dumbstuck with Selva’s daring efforts to present such film, I overheard few people leaving with disappointment. I understand perceptions are different yet I feel we need to encourage these films which takes us beyond the mundane tamil films and keeps us flummoxed every minute.. After all we all love a Titanic, 2012, Avatar for its extravaganza but simply do not appreciate Tamil Films of same magnitude(Not literally) and sensation.
Needless to say AO is one movie that belongs to the elite group of films that takes Tamil Cinema to the Next frontier of Growth.
Kudos to the entire team of AO.
