Aayirathil Oruvan

"Aayirathil Oruvan is very good Adventure movie i never ever seen before in Tamil movie. Hats off to Selvaraghavan" by prakash. B W some :With Aayirathil Oruvan, Selvaraghavan has inadvertently opened the Pandora box of a new genre as yet unknown to Tamil movies – Zombies. It is the case of Pirates of the Caribbean meets Dawn of the Death where the ancient Cholas, albeit with whatsoever no connection to the real Cholas as the disclaimer maintains, are reduced to dark-as-charcoal skinned tribesmen living in an unknown island in Vietnam, who are ready to gorge at raw flesh at the mere sight of it since they are starved.

So the dark-skinned subjects largely set the tone of the movie and the darkness remains dominant throughout. There is blood and gore, but of a different kind: not the one that makes you squirm, but something that makes you gawk at.

Thousands of years ago, when the Cholas were ousted from their homeland by the Pandias, their throne Prince was sent into exile to a secret location by the last Chola King. The Prince also carried with him a priceless statue of the Pandias. No efforts were fruitful at tracing the location and archeologists attempting the same simply disappear without a trace.

Aayirathil Oruvan

Andrea's dad and archaeologist Prathap Pothen vanishes into thin air in his attempt to unravel the mystery. In comes the archaeologist-cum-gun-wielding-designer-sunglasses-sporting ultra modern chick Reema, employed by the Indian government to trace Pothen. Andrea, his daughter, obviously joins in and they employ Karthi and a gang of burly men as helps. Karthi looks as if he's stepped out of his Paruthiveeran sets to join Reema and Andrea in their quest.

Their expedition unfurls nasty surprises after surprises - body-painted weirdos with strange weapons, quicksand, snakes. Lest we forget, there is also a cat fight between Reema and Andrea on the topic 'Karthi'. They finally reach the zombie land where Parthiban is the ruler whose raw-flesh-eating subjects take them into custody. Reema reveals her real self and exposes the self-centric purpose of her quest.

Karthi has very little to spare for Aayirathil Oruvan. He plays the rustic help, who instantly falls for Reema and Andrea, who cracks witty one-liners much to our delight in the otherwise serious state of affairs. Being his forte, it comes much easier for him without even having to try.

Despite having to mouth profound verses in ancient Tamil, Reema manages to only mime them with improper synchronization and it makes her appear as if she's in a Chinese movie. Andrea is multi-talented, but acting, sadly, is not one of those. But her meager dialogues in Madras Tamil are bang on otherwise.

G V Prakash's music stands out in the 'Ommele Aasathaan' song and a word about the background score: it's a battle between the background score and the blood thirsty human screeches. We would've loved to write about Eerum Ali's costume designing if only Reema and Andrea were not strutting around in just one pair of satin-shirt-shorts-overalls and sleeveless top and baggies respectively. Karthi leaves no scope for Eerum squarely.

Selva's frenziedly unleashed creativity makes you hallucinate towards the end of the movie and delirium sets in soon. It's not enough that a solid disclaimer is in place, a little bit of research about the subject would've helped things in the process. The underdeveloped script lacks everything - starting from strong plot twists to captive locations to graphics to credibility, above all.

Aayirathil Oruvan also ends on a very scary end note: about the journey of the Chola prince continuing as Karthi takes up the mantle

The movie which created high expectations for 2 years reaches silver screen with a bang! hats off to Selva and his crew who made this happen.

Plot: During 12th century,Cholas were defeated by the Pandians,causing the Chola king and his people to remain hidden with the enemy god's idol..Pandians are still in search of them..presently,the casts Karthi,Reema,Andrea go pass 7 traps set by Chola to reach the hidden Chozan world...the rest of the story reveals Reema's mystery and Karthi's destiny.

All credit goes to Selva who has made a successful magnum opus.The important aspect of the movie is its raw and sensible screenplay.

The cast of the movie are definite plus..Karthi has completely dominated the first half of the movie wit hilarious comedies,and innocent acting..Brave attempt of Reema in second half is sure for credit,Andrea plays a soft and sizzling role in the movie..Parthiban as the Chozan king is above grounds,his performance in this movie surely deserves an award....

Music is the soul heart of the movie scored by G.V.Prakash ..songs are tremendous incl Oh Eesa,Un Mela Aasadhan and Thai Thindra..the two instrumentals, King arrives and Celebration of life are best part of the movie holding audience nerves...

Cinematography and art direction adds beautiful ingredients to the movie..graphics could have been made still more perfectly..

Finally, Selvaraghavan has clean shaved all the routine commercial flicks and has given a new genre for Tamil cinema..the story of the movie speaks for itself...the scene of Nataraja shadow is purely brilliancy in world cinema..the characterization of the Chozan king is amazing..the research work of the director is excelled in all departments like music and mythology of Cholas..

the negative aspects are the character of the army officer and rape scenes in final minutes..

To conclude AO is the movie that carries Tamil history in world class style...new entry for cult movie.

(Desperately waiting for AO2)

Rating:10/10

Selvaraghavan one of the most versatile directors in Indian cinema has attempted a new genre and has succeeded. His imagination has no limits and has reflected on the screen very well. This movie shows the vast history of South India (something not seen before).

The backbone of this film is around the cast consisting of Karthi, Reema sen and Andrea. All of them have given great performances especially Reema sen who has grown as an actor.

The first half of the film is an adventure on tone with Indiana Jones but the obstacles and concept is purely Indian which makes this film unique. The comedy timing of karthi is exceptional which keeps the first half fast paced with some great visuals. The pre-interval scene sets the pace for a great second half.

The second half of the movie is a little slower than the first half because the more detailed characterization. Parthiban plays the chola king to perfection and his dialogue delivery is flawless. Reema sen dominates the second half with less role for Karthi and Andrea.

The battle scenes towards the end might not be the best we have seen but are great keeping in mind the budget constraint.

The visual effects of the film are exceptional again keeping in mind the budget available.

The cinematography by ramji is one of the best i have ever seen. His visualization of the battle scenes, kingdom , seas, deserts were so close to reality.

G.V.Prakash's BGM score was good but not great which could be the only negative point i see in this movie.

Finally the director of this venture Selvaraghavan needs a pat on the back for this great attempt. It might not be as great as his career best Pudupettai but is still one of his best Go and book your tickets as soon as possible !!!! Rating 8/10

Here is a movie that wants to have fun, the cast wants to have fun. The audience ends up having fun in first half. karthik is hilarious. Andrea handles the limited demands of his role quite well. Reema Sen brings her ever-present charm and beauty to a role which is notable for being one of the few action-adventure roles written for a female that is not obnoxious in recent memory. It takes a big U Turn in Second half,where parthiban rules the remaining part.You can't take your eyes off parthiban.

It's kind of a Indiana Jones meets Apocolypto Movie .This is the best Adventure I have ever seen in tamil. It depicts the horrors of the & the tragedy of Chola Civilization, and I know, I have not seen a film of such a powerful & Superbly directed by Selvaragahavan, magnificently photographed by Ramji, perfect performances by karthi and Reema Sen, and, especially, Parthiban. beautiful, brilliant score, brings the whole horror and tragedy, Action Adventure. This is Selva's Triumph. Congratulations!

Aayiratthil Oruvan is a new Genre to Indian Cinema. No one has ever tried or attempted this kind of a Plot. Selvaraghavan has excelled in his part of screenplay and direction. Its really a tough one to direct. Actors have given their best. Karthi Reema Sen and Andrea have done their jobs perfectly. The First half of the movie is enjoyable for all people whereas to enjoy the second half you need patience and good observing powers. Selva has his own directorial touches. This Scene should surely be mentioned where a women shows how hungry she is. Coming to Visual Effects,this is the only place where we're lacking behind Hollywood People.The art director Santhanam has done a neat job. G.V.Prakash comes up with his best Music and BGM so far. The Movie as a whole is absolutely awesome, but could've been presented in a much understandable manner.

Movie's Major Plus

1. Screenplay and Direction 2. Background Music 3. Casting 4. Plot 5.Locations where the film is shot

Movie's Major Minus

1. Visual Effects(not so realistic) 2. Less Usage of the So called Hero Karthi 3. Too Much of Vulgarity which wasn't needed for this script 4. Incomplete Climax 5.Unable to deliver the plot to all classes

No one has the right to rate a film except the makers of it. Because they are the one who has taken the effort and faced the problems in making it. So i am not supposed to rate this film. But this tremendous effort should be appreciated. Hats Off to Mr.Selvaraghavan and Thank You Sir for this wonderful movie!!!

Prashanth Sekar