Ayngaran Movie Review

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Tamil film makers and their fixation to ride the wave of a sensational crime or incidents that shook the state is a never-ending story. Ayngaran is one such attempt. The movie is about a young engineering student who invents a device to rescue a four-year girl stuck in a borewell. Actor G. V. Prakash Kumar who was last seen in Selfie is back on screens with his action thriller Ayngaran. Actress Mahima Nambiar plays the female lead role in the film. Story teller Ravi Arasu of Eetti fame has helmed the flick. So, how has the entertainer come out? Will it help put actor G. V. Prakash Kumar on the saddle of a winning horse again? To know that let us get into the movie review. 

The movie follows the life of Mathi (G. V. Prakash Kumar), a young passionate mechanical engineering graduate. He lives with his sub-inspector father (Aadukalam Naren), who exhausts most of his energy trying to put up with his corrupt boss (Haresh Peradi). Mathi has designed a few instruments that would be of use to ordinary people. He is on the task to get his inventions patterned so that he can receive funding to improvise and market them. But the officials at the pattern office do not see any value in his inventions and insolently reject him. But he is not ready to give up, and keep on with his efforts. Rejections put Mathi in distress. His girlfriend Mathumitha (Mahima Nambiar) is his only solace. She encourages him to carry on working hard. In one instance, Mathi along with his friend (Kaali Venkat) visits a poultry farm owned by Magudi. He recognizes that the farm owner uses prohibited growth hormones to nurture his meat. 

Overcome with his social obligation, he films and shares it on social media. It gets viral. Magudi loses his business, and seeks revenge on Mathi. He tries to dodge Magudi. In a parallel subplot, a bunch of thieves from North India led by Moorthy (Siddhartha Shankar) successfully pull off a jewelry heist in the center of the city. While eluding Magudi, Mathi comes across this gang. Meanwhile, news breaks out that a child has fallen into a narrow borewell hole. The authorities deploy multiple methods to try and pull out the child. But none worked out. As the rescue measures become complex, the assistance of Mathi’s invention is called for. Will Mathi’s invention save the life of the kid, does his invention get patterned, who are the robbers, and how are they connected to the plot, is what makes the rest of the flick. 

What is it with the filmmakers of Tamil cinema and their obsession to partly have, or turn sensational events into a film, and deliver fictional justice, or offer a completely non practical solution to issues? Director Ravi Arasu is the latest one to join that mammoth list of storytellers. To be fair, Ayngaran has sincere efforts whether be it the characterization, or the narrative style it enfolds. The film starts promisingly with a beaten down youngster trying to channel his passion for the benefit of others. But as the film progresses, director Ravi Arasu gets into a dilemma as to how many messages he wants his movie to drive home. Apparently, one is not sufficient for him. So, there is a checklist, the plight of an engineer, how talents are undermined and destroyed by authorities, the abuse of power by those in authority, and a social awareness scheme. 

When the messages are filtered out, it needs a vehicle to drive them through, right? In comes the use of a popular unfortunate incident, oh wait, this is not interesting, so let us mix some crime angles to get the audience’s attention. Voila, you have Ayngaran! Amidst all this there is a pointless love track that goes nowhere. What started off as a story of an engineer, turns into a social obligation drama, then becomes a crime thriller, and finally arrives at the rescue thriller juncture. The moment it enters the rescue thriller zone, it becomes a drag. And if at all we had stayed invested in the drama till that instance, we lost interest in Ayngaran promptly. 

Actor G. V. Prakash Kumar fits in well as a mechanical engineer. But he is repetitive in his performance. It is the same expressions and mannerism that we are so used to. Actress Mahima Nambiar does not have much to offer to the proceedings except for a few portions. Nonetheless, she has done justice to her part. Comedian Kaali Venkat manages to make us laugh here and there. But could not serve his purpose on a whole. Actor Aadukalam Naren is as effective as usual. Actor Arul Doss is adequate. Actor Hareesh Peradi does what he has been doing film after film. The rest of the cast has delivered what was asked of them. 

On the technical front, G. V. Prakash Kumar as a musician is evidently not at his best. His tracks do not stay in our memory for too long. But his background score aids in building the tense moments in the second half. Cinematographer Saravanan Abimanyu’ frames should have been better. Editor Raja Mohammed has deployed his editing skills to cover the shortcomings in the work of his colleague. 

On the whole, director Ravi Arasu’s intention to craft a message drama is noble, but unfortunately his dexterity is not adequate to do it in an engaging fashion.