You can find the video here.Before you read: I believe that the best movie till date from Selvaraghavan is Pudhupettai and I m a biased fan of that movie and the movie-maker
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The first thought that came to my mind after watching AO : How legitimate an excuse is it to blame perseverance in overcoming the hardships of movie making for tarnishing consistency in story-telling ? I could think of nothing else to explain why a film-maker with a gift for narration came out with as confused an attempt as the second half of AO. Also, I would only reservedly appreciate the first half because that kind of a B and C-audience oriented effort is something that seems to have come naturally to Selvaraghvan in his previous movies. It was interesting. I enjoyed it(yeah, even the B&C-audience attracting part) but the first half was not worth appreciating. The explicit sexual tones in any of Selvaraghavan's movies seems to be the prime mover of the first half of AO as well.
The story of AO unlike what many say is definitely a simple one - A team of archaelogists trying to uncover the truths about a lost civilization cross intentional obstacles left behind by the same civilization. After succeeding in their efforts they end up actually meeting inhabitiants of the same group living an impoverised & famished lifestyle. What happens from there is the rest of the film. The story however cannot definitely be understood on a minute-by-minute basis (definitely not in the second half) and that is more because of the numerous inconistencies it is riddled with than because of the complexity of the plot itself(as the director has claimed). The one aspect that the film-maker seems to have forgotten is that logic has to be present even in a fantasy or supernatural thriller. It is okay if laws of physics are not obeyed but it is not okay if there are no clear boundaries for when the same laws will or will-not work. That is where Selvaraghavan needs to learn from movies such as Avatar. Cameron, for instance, creates a world of fantasy with its own fallacies which are internally consistent.(The lushness and the electrical grid prevent radar screening of unobtanium mines. However, Na'vis can be killed by humans and their bullets.) In simpler terms - any particular law is either bent or not bent. It cannot be like in AO where ancestors can be summoned to question Muthu's integrity but would not be sought for help when it comes to questioning Anitha Pandian's true identity. It is at such points that the movie gets a little frustrating. You pretty much end up feeling the same struggle the director overcame to make a movie of this size rather than appreciating the struggle.
The subtle comedy track blended very well with the natural pace of the screenplay and makes sure the first half never gets boring. Even in the second half certain curious phrases such as "Linga Darisanam" had the entire theatre in splits. The graphic imagery in the movie lives up to usual Selvaraghavan standards. Scenes such as - Squeezing blood out of the breast to explain the poverty struck society and the ruthless tribals that behead Muthu's friends leaving their torsos pump blood out like a fountain had a huge impact on me.
Karthi has done a wonderful job in bringing out his character. His spontaneity and confidence is a clear plus for the entire length of the film. Andrea looks cute and charming but has nothing much to do for anyone to critic her acting skills. Reema Sen looks more sexy than she usually does, but I feel she is one of the worst choices for such a powerful character. The director says he chose her for her curiosly unreadable face. I agree. Her facial expressions were blunt and most of the times plain annoying. Shouldnt Selva not have chosen someone with the ability to speak tamil (let alone 12th century tamil) ? This is one among the many such questions that trouble you even as you walk back from the theatre amazed at the stunning battle sequence. Parthiban's acting seems to have a superficial touch to it. He is not good at pulling off a character which demands charisma and majesty despite poverty - his act comes out as crass. You can see his talent however in scenes where his role demands the potrayal of semi-barbaric aspects of a primitive king.
Camera has been handled splendidly by Rajiv and the director owes him big for the chase scenes in the forest and lighting in the battle scenes. GV Prakash's background score is scintillating - particularly the theme music and it blends well with the period-film aspect of the movie. ('Un mela aasadhan' is still open as a tab in my explorer window as I type this.). Art director has come up with sets that closely resemble what one can dream of when he thinks about 12th century south indian architecture - a very commendable effort. Vairamuthu's lyrics are 12th century antic precious verses I would say. "Eerukatta ethirmarai perecham, ariveeero ?" - had me extremely impressed.
It is one thing to be bold and daring to take up a dream project of this magnitude. It is another to make it a relishable and coherent film. For the biased fan of Selva that I am, I would still blame all the imperfections in the movie to have stemmed from the consistent troubles and delays the team faced - such an extenuating shoot would naturally shake up the mental make of the film-maker. Despite its flaws AO is definitely a treat to watch and I strongly recommend watching it.
BottomLine: An extremely ambitious director's confused yet daring attempt.
Rating 4.3/5 (Pudhupettai ranks 4.9/5 btw...)
