Arrambam (2013)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Not even bad in a good way

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Ashok Kumar (Ajith) is a mastermind behind a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai. He doesn't stop his activities at that and further threatens Arjun (Arya), a hacker, that he'll kill the latter's friend Maya (Nayanthara), if he doesn't agree to his demands.If that wasn't enough, Ashok brings in Anita (Taapsee) and tells Arjun that her life is in his hands now. While the police department gets ready to begin the investigation, they are shocked to know that a leading TV channel's network has been hacked.Rest of the story is about why Ashok wants to bring down and expose a list of people, whom he seems to have a grudge against.

Another movie riding solely on its lead actor with no thought given whatsoever to story - only this time, Vishnuvardan's attempt at another Billa does not keep you interested. The movie aspires to be a lot, but never takes you there. It was like watching individual stylish clips of Ajith put together.Editing and screenplay is a letdown. Yuvan's music is very average. Arya's performance also below par. Nayanthara has done her job perfectly - and that is to look ravishing. I was very disappointed since these are the kind of movies that insults your intelligence. Ajith did what he always does of late - looks stylish and has a good presence of screen. But is the movie worth the money on the whole? Not at all if you are not an Ajith fan.

When a series of blasts rocks Mumbai, the police go on a witch hunt to capture the accused but little do they who is against them or what his plans are. AK (Ajith) lays a web trapping Maya (nayanthara), Arjun (Arya) and Anita (Taapsee) in the due process. But what he has planned for them forms the rest of the story. Ajith kumar as AK shines through out with his slow motion walking, careful planning and of course goes guns blazing when weeds pop out. Arya has played a faithful sidekick to Ajith's plan and occasionally tickles the funny bone. Nayanthara's oomph factor has been meticulously blended with the movie's overall glam. Taapsee seems totally out of place and lacks character depth. The rest of cast except for Kishore fail to catch the eye.The screenplay starts well except for Arya's "winged" flashback which is a total drag to an otherwise brilliant first half. Second half spells calamity to both AK and the screenplay. Before the credits roll AK kills more than Uma thurman in "Kill Bill". But there are some references to real life places like "Nariman house" though the team claims that this is a work of fiction. Well, we believe you.Cinematography blends well with the pace and the cameraman has done a good job surviving between the many bullets. Songs are a let down (Ajith fans in my screening felt otherwise, but it's understandable) and play havoc to the screenplay's pace. Action choreography should have made more, for a lack of a better word, realistic.The second half of the second half lets you down and you will want the movie to end as soon as possible. For reasons, read the preceding paragraph.PS: Steady start, shaky finish.

Right from the moment the film takes off, it becomes clear that this film is a ride for the star that is Ajith. With his trademark sunglasses- adorned walk that is shown enough times that a wannabe model can take coaching classes from it, this film makes its mission to showcase Ajith. And it does succeed but only in that department while failing miserably in the rest of the departments.AK (Ajith) and Maya (Nayantara) extort Arjun (Arya) to be the computer hacker that every terrorist organization naturally needs. Why he do this and how he does this forms the story.The film opens predictably with a hero intro song and the opening act is intriguing enough. Arya's back story is refreshing but the story is dampened by the over the board and frankly irritating antics of Taapsee who plays his love interest. The film goes on nicely till the interval with a few surprises but nothing extraordinary. Ajith's back story on corruption should have been focused more but all the evidence is found all too conveniently. All this builds up to a flat climax that overstays its welcome.Of the cast, Ajith still oozes charm and style.He delivers his punch- dialogues well. His costume designer definitely deserves praise. Post interval, he gets to show his acting chops which he does well. Arya gets to deliver some very good cheeky one liners and he is content playing second fiddle. Actresses are often short changed in such films and this is no different. Nayantara is just asked to look good (which she does incredibly well) whereas Taapsee is there just so that Arya does not feel left alone. Rana makes an not-so-interesting cameo and the bad guys (Mahesh Manjrekar and Atul Kulkarni) do not make much of an impression. Akshara Gowd and Suman Ranganthan themselves probably don't know why they were part of the film.Production values are very high. style has been Vishnuvardhan's hallmark and he makes sure that this film is shot and edited nicely. The Holi song deserves special praise for its camera-work. Background music and songs are a big letdown with rerecording making lyrics songs difficult to make out.I rate this move 3.0/10. Watch it if you are a die hard fan of Thala but otherwise give it a miss.