A critically acclaimed, award winning dark thriller, AARANYA KAANDAM is a must watch film for the lovers of ‘new-age experimental cinema’ for more than one solid reasons as shared below.
1. Widely appreciated its considered to be the first new-noir (modern dark crime thrillers) in Tamil Cinema, breaking new grounds in film-making with its unique treatment.
2. The title AARANYA KAANDAM is named on one specific chapter of the epic RAMAYANA (Aranya Kaand) meaning “Jungle Chapter”, pointing towards the world being full of wild characters (with animal instincts) only interested in their ‘self’.
3. Inspired by the iconic gangster films from the west, it has a narration closer to the cult PULP FICTION with a multi-layered depiction of a day out of the life of gangsters, their goons and few innocent people connected to them unintentionally.
4. Jackie Shroff makes a powerful appearance in the film as an ageing gangster who very well knows his body is no longer the same both in the field and on the bed. But he is trying to deal with the guilt in his own violent way.
5. Shroff also goes nude in the film that has a quite brutal and bloody fight sequence before the climax, which as usual resulted in a struggle with the censor board (passed with insertion of blurs).
6. The film has an amazing amalgamation of an inventive cinematography, worth noticing background score and a commendable editing. In fact, these are the three key departments that impress you the most converting it into a must watch trendsetter creation for the youngsters working or getting trained in these specific fields.
7. Rightly praising the outstanding work, the film was awarded two National Awards for Best Editing and Best First Film of a Director in 2012.
8. Produced by SPB Charan, its unbelievably the directorial debut of a newcomer Thyagarajan Kumararaja, who comes up with a brilliant, well-structured narration without any unnecessary forced sequences or the usual songs (it’s a song less film as required). Along with his talented performers, cinematographer, music director and editor, Kumararaja puts up a highly laudable show which once again proves that great filmmaking is always possible through an exceptional team working together and not an individual alone.
9. The film begins with the question “What is Dharma?” And then ends with an answer given by Chanakya leaving you in a thinking mode (exactly as seen in many QT films)
Moving to the other side, it lacks the entertainment quotient which severely restricts its viewership to only the audience interested in innovative experimental cinema relying more on its technical aspects. The proceedings take their own time to get you involved (progressing at a slow pace) and then successfully make an impact with the final twist revealed ending on a thoughtful note. At times a few actors look like over-reacting like the kid, his father and the abnormal looking helpless girl, but overall the cast presents a great show together under a competent direction.
Summing up, here is a realistically made, focused gangster film that straight away reminds you of the works of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie. It’s ruthlessly real and raw, presented in an unusual style with all effective performances. The content might not be novel, but it’s the technical excellence of the film for which its strongly recommended to all, especially the fans of ‘neo-noir’ genre experimented in the recent Indian Cinema.
Rating : 3.5 / 5
Starring : Jackie Shroff, Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj, Yasmin Ponnappa, Somasundaram, Master Vasanth, Rambo Rajkumar and more.
(Many thanks to Harish Mallya for giving the valuable info about the film)
(Update : The film can now be seen on HOTSTAR online portal free of cost without paying anything.)
