Strikingly different
Call it an experimental film. Call it a gangster flick or call it a novel attempt on Tamil screen. This is what Aranya Kandam is all about. Three cheers to producer S P Charan for gathering all guts to do a strikingly different film that is raw, realistic and is just like watching angry men up close. Debutant filmmaker Thiagarajan Kumararaja has taken greater risk to tread on such a theme in his very first film. It has no logical loopholes, but picturising crude realities of life so real needs amazing guts.
Known for trying innovative attempts on screen ever since Chennai 28, producer S P Charan has roped in Bollywood star Jackie Shroff for the lead role. Pitted with him are Sampath Raj, stunt master Rambo Rajkumar, Ravikrishna and Yasmeen Ponappa.
The elegant performance of Jackie Shroff elevates the film to new heights while Sampath Raj walks away with all honours for his portrayal. Ravikrishna has come up with a matured performance while Yasmeen Ponnappa is no cliched heroine running around trees and romancing. There is no flashy costumes, dream sequence or racy peppy songs. It has no commercial cliches. Yet it is hard and hitting, striking a mark with the viewers. The young director conveys the crude realities of life through the film on the canvas.Interestingly with the movie set around gangsters in Chennai, no wonder there is abundant 'Chennai Tamil' in the film with every character swearing in Tamil.
Jackie Shroff (Singam Perumal) is a gangster who has henchmen at his control. They include Sappai (Ravikrishna), a weak timid boy who is the object of fun in the gang and of course the strong and well-built Pasupathy (Sampath Raj) is also there in the gang. Singaperumal is pitted against Gajendran (Rambo Rajkumar). They have professional rivalry.
There comes a chance to acquire narcotics in large quantities, which Singam Perumal decides not try his hand at. But Pasupathy pleads to give him a chance to take them and even requests a loan of Rs 50 lakh from Singamperumal. Also Gajendran goes hammer and tongs to take them. Meanwhile, a wily Singamperumal in the pretext of encouraging Pasupathy wants to bump him off and take away narcotics from him. There is a plenty of drama happening at Singamperumal's house. Sappai develops an affair with Subbu (Yasmeen Ponappa), a girl who is forced to stay with Singamperumal promising her a chance in cinema. Sappai and Subbu wants to elope and live a life of their own.
Meanwhile, a lot of twists and turn happen and Pasupathy's wife is taken as hostage by Singamperumal's gang. Gajendran gets bumped off and it finally boils down between Pasupathy and Singamperumal. But a twist in the story in the form of Subbu settles things in favour of Pasupathy. How all events unfolds form the crux of second half.
Jackie Shroff as dreaded Singam Perumal has lived the character. He oozes venom in his eyes. At the same time in many places, he carries the whole burden in his shoulders to deliver a perfect performance. Not far behind him is Sampath Raj. His body language and dialogue delivery elevates the mood of the film. He is at his best performing with perfection. Its been an interesting role for Ravikrishna, which he has done well. He portays his emotions well on screen, while Yasmeen Ponnappa is tailor-made for the character. There are a couple of scene-stealers in the film in the form of Somasundaram, who plays a challenging role and master Vasanth.
Yuvan Shankar Raja deserves all accolades for a fantastic re-recording. It is perhaps the background score that gives the right feel at many places. Vinod's lens captures the darker sides of city life well. It has to be said again that Charan deserves guts to produce such films.
The frequent use of swearing words in Tamil and the characters turning violent often perhaps justifies the title. There is much of blood and gore. Thiagarajan Kumararaja seems to have arrived with a bang with a different film that is away from commercial cliches.
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