An Average Aadhavan

The first time I dragged my whole family which includes my 3 year old toddler and elders to the theatre on a cold Sunday evening which I regretted tremendously. Had my expectations very low after reading mixed reviews and the movie didn't prove me wrong in any way. A very mediocre typical KSR masala family entertainer. The first half was much better than the second one. Infact pretty vibrant too - by the time one successfully settles down in the dancing chairs of the shoddiest theatres on earth after a lot of wrestles and free-falls the movie is already at its intermission.

The star displaying his efficieny on the Yoga aasanaas is a visual treat to any of his fans. The star definitely has a great potential and has displayed immense capabilty in the past but this movie is no challenge to the star's talent. He has been royally under used in the movie. He has done his role fine and has tried to be the savior along with Vadivelu attempting to carry the whole movie on their shoulders but unfortunately with too many unwanted star cast and a sloppy story line the duo is struggling beyond words.


Normally in any movie we tend to watch out for the chemistry between the hero and the heroine. In aadhavan no such thing exist between the lead star and the lead lady. The actual chemistry is between Surya and Vadivel which is mindblowing. The comedy track blends so well with the movie unlike what we have witnessed in the recent past and that is the only reason why a majority of the audience even sat through the first half of the movie.

One of Surya's USP is his brilliance in the romantic scenes. Interestingly there is no romance shown between the 2 of them. Not sure if this was a directorial decision or an insistence from the star! Completely misplaced songs with a middling picturisation are the only reminders that Surya and Nayanthara are the supposedly champions of the movie.


Harris has earnestly let down his audience and needless to say KSR and Udhayanidhi Stalin. One needn't be in Switzerland to score this so-called incredible music - all he needed was a taperecorder and the CD's of his earlier deliveries. Every song sounds familiar and the only passable song Hasili Fisili is turned a fiasco with its psychedelic visuals.


Star cast - did KSR feel obligated to include the long forgotten faces or was it a genuine attempt to provide them a come-back opportunity? Whatever it was, the endeavor is a disaster. Many of them did not even have a chance to deliver a single liner leave alone them getting noticed. All it did was flood the screen with human herds! Abhinaya Saraswathi Saroja Devi, calling her an actress is a gross misnomer. I wonder how this lady was even accepted as a heroine in the olden days. Did our grand parental / parental generation have such a pathetic taste? She has done due diligence in irritating the audience and getting on our nerves every frame she appears. The script writer for Vadivel's comedy track deserves special applause as he has rightly spoken the audience mind through Vadivel's dialogues.


There is yet another character who is the big cheese contributing significantly to the house roaring with laughter. It is none other than the stunt master kanal kannan. Its hard to believe this crackerjack choreographed the stunts in the star's earlier BB Ayan.

The icing to the cake is the climax...Not sure what KSR thought about his audience...he has gone acutely overboard with the churning of his hogwash..sorry masala...The star effortlessly uses a transformer cable to swing through, grabbing the rocket launcher from his dad's car and planting it on the villain's helicopter..OMG attrocity at its height.


Nayan didnt have any role to play once again emphasizing the fact that heroines are not at all required in most of the Tamil movies. The only solace is that we are not entitled to sit through the torturous skin show ordeal as always is the case with any of her movies.


I was reminded of Chandramukhi for the vast crowd in the movie, Vijay's minsara kanna for most part of the movie. Aadhavan can be good entertainment when families get together for a potluck on a wintry afternoon not knowing what to do after a heavy feast and too reluctant to suspend consciousness. A highly recommended DVD movie on a home theatre for a lively first half and the rest needing tolerance and more importantly patience!!