Aravaan...

As you see the opening sequence, where the entire screen is being filled with an eighteenth century landscape, you can’t help but wonder if you have actually been transported in time and world. Well… That is not all. For a tamil movie representing an earlier time period, the movie ‘Aravaan’ stands apart. Be it the clothes and accessories, the landscape or the people everything is so real and so unique. Director Vasanthabalan has taken ‘the road less traveled by’ and has crafted a wonderful movie based on the tamil novel ‘Kaaval kottam’.

The opening scene itself is a classic. Kombhoothi (Pasupathy) and his gang called ‘kothu’, the legendary thieves from the petty village of Vembur execute a well planned theft from a rich landlord’s house. This literally makes people wonder how elegantly the theft was carried out and this sequence has overtaken any of the modern day technology based movies like the ‘Ocean’s eleven’ saga with all the modern gadgets and all.

 The entire village lives on the income earned by thieving. Situations lead Kombhoothi to meet a hippie called Varipuli (Aadhi), the protagonist. Soon the two go on to become very close friends and they go for ‘kalavu’ (means theft) together. During a very difficult situation, Varipuli keeps his life at stake and saves the life of Kombhoothi from the guardsmen of the village ‘Kottaiyur’.

Later on, one day Varipuli gets beaten up and kidnapped by a gang of men who guard the village of ‘Kottaiyur’. This is when the true identity of Varipuli is revealed. In a flashback sequence rolls the story of how Chinna, the guardsman from the village of Chinnaveeranpatti became Varipuli, the thief.

The movie portrays how in olden days a murder of a stranger was viewed, messenger being sent to several villages to spread word and the brutality of ‘an eye for an eye’ concept without even an investigation. The cameo roles of the king, the queen, a dancer, the perfume vendor and the gypsy are crafted with care so every role shines with perfection and realism. The end of the movie is overwhelming and moves us to tears. And it is so true that ‘Men with authority and money buy their way out of justice’. Also the movie conveys a message that life sentence is a brutality and not a punishment which by the way is very true.

Make up for the artists is amazing. Bharath as the perfume vendor couldn’t be recognized at all. Bharath and Anjali have done a cameo role which marks the turning point of the story. Also the landscape the director has chosen must have taken him a good proportion of time to find out. In the current era, a stretch of land without any mobile phone towers, electric lines and railway lines is not easy to find.  

The traditions and lifestyle of the people are totally portrayed in the song ‘Enna petha oore’. Playback singer Karthik’s debut attempt as music director has been a hit with all songs so light on the listeners.  

With flawless performance, all the artists of this film definitely deserve a standing ovation. And the movie, in its own style expresses a mixture of flavors - joy, sorrow, love, loss and sense of humor and is on its way to become one of the classics. For a period movie, ‘Aravaan’ stands ahead of any other movie released on Tamil screen. It is obvious that the director Vasanthabalan has taken an extra step forward in making a period film and his hard work definitely shows up in the quality of the movie.

Bottomline: For people who would like to know the ‘not so glamorous’ life of the royal blood, it’s a must watch. And for all Tamilians too!