Yuganiki Okkadu/Aayirathil Oruvan

I have this policy where I don't watch dubbed Tamil movies in Telugu. Part of the reason could be because I can't bring myself to listen to the songs in Telugu, especially if I like the Tamil version. That's why I still haven't watched Ghazini, Cheli and other movies in Telugu. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Ayirathil Oruvan(AO). People who know me vouch for the fact that I am a sucker for all things thriller/mystery. When I heard that the movie was an adventure thriller, I watched it, regardless of people telling me that its going to be gory.This is what I thought.

Film: Yuganiki Okkadu/Aayirathil Oruvan(In Tamil)
Cast: Karthi Sivakumar, Reema Sen, Andrea Jeremiah, Parthiban(Special Appearance) & Others.
Music: G.V. Prakash
Director: Selvaraghavan
Producer: R. Ravindran
Release Date: 14th January, 2010
My Rating: 3/5


What's It About:

The movie starts in 12th century AD where the Chola Empire is coming to an end. The Pandyas have waged a war with them and in order to save the crown prince, the Cholas send him away with a few trusted men to a secret place, taking with them the Pandya's sacred idol. The Pandyas follow them but they cannot find the hiding place. The films cuts to the present day where expeditions are still going on to trace the secret  location of the empire. Lavanya(Andrea) is an archeologist whose dad is missing after he locates the empire. Anita(Reema) is an army officer who is assigned the task of leading a search party to locate him and Lavanya joins them. The party employs Muthu(Karthi) and a group of porters to help them. The team goes through a series of traps that the Cholas have set to frighten people away from looking for them. Many lives are lost and the trio get separated from everyone. They finally find the Chola civilization and meet their king(Parthiban). What will the Cholas do to them? What happened to the idol? Will they ever get back to normalcy? All these questions form the rest of the story.

Artist Performance:

This is Karthi's second movie and the movie has released 3 years after his first one. It is Karthi's show all the way. He is endearing as a tapori coolie who is a hopeless flirt. He provides the sole source of humor in the whole movie. His facial expressions are too good in his combination scenes with Parthiban. Reema Sen has a meaty role and has a tremendous scope to perform but she is uneven at places, putting in a laudable effort especially in the last 30 minutes of the movie. Andrea does not have much to do or say and I cannot talk about her acting skills when she doesn't have to exhibit them. Parthiban is nice in a extended special appearance and  this acting in the scene where he realizes his mistake is brilliant. 

This & That:

Selvaraghavan has to be appreciated for attempting a film  with such grand attributes. The sets are grand, cinematography is beautiful. The screenplay is slow and editing could have been better. It would help if some screen time is reduced as it is well over 3 hours. Music by G.V. Prakash deserves a special mention. My favorite picks of the album are Oh Eesa & Un Mela Aasadhan, which is well choreographed. The climax of the movie is very hard to digest and too graphic for my taste. The twist in the end and the 7 obstacles that the charectors face are interesting. The movie is a super hit in Tamil and is apparently doing good business in A.P as well.

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, the movie is entertaining. Steel your stomach for the graphic scenes.