Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay & Direction
Cinematography & BGM
An unenthusiastic attempt!
Aal is a half-hearted, perfunctory attempt to portray a socially sentive subject involving two broadly discussed topics across the world - muslims and terrorists.
Cast: Vidharth, Hardika Shetty & others
Music: Johan
Cinematography: Uthaya Kumar
Editing: Ramesh Bharathi
Direction: Aanand Krishna
Production: Shoundaryan Pictures
Release Date: 19-09-2014
Run Time: 01:49:00
Aanand Krishna’s Aal aspires to stir the social conscience of viewers right from the word go. The movie begins with a loyal note – “This movie is created for our country’s unity, peace and religious belief”, followed by the mandatory disclaimer to stay away from any real-life resemblances.
Aal is a half-hearted, perfunctory attempt to portray a socially sensitive subject involving two broadly discussed topics across the world – muslims and terrorists.
Aamir (Viddharth) is a sports coach in a college situated in Sikkim and he befriends a student who is perpetually teased by fellow students as terrorist solely because he is a muslim. Viddharth rescues the student and offers him shelter in his room. Over time, they become good friends and Viddharth starts sharing everything about him. Cut to Chennai airport. Aamir arrives to Chennai to confront his to-be-father-in-law upon request from her girlfriend. But, after landing in Chennai, he is threatened to follow instructions over a cell-phone. His family has been kidnapped and the reason is unknown. All Aanand Krisha tells the viewers is Aamir is involved in a mysterious terrorist plot. How he disentangles himself from this trap forms the plot.
The problem with Aal is it emphatically feeds us patriotism and sympathy in a largely disengaging narration. Viddharth’s acting lacks spine when it should have ideally been the film’s cornerstone. Aanand Krishna’s screenplay, which deals about terrorism – one of the sensitive topics, lacks subjectivity. And then, there is a contrived romantic angle to the story which could have been clearly done away with. The lack of realism rules this film which is nothing but an apathetic attempt to showcase patriotism.
Uthaya Kumar’s cinematography capturing the nook and corner of Parry’s corner deserves mention. Editing by Ramesh Bharathi is slick and the film’s running time at less than two hours is the only saving grace in an otherwise underwhelming film. The schmaltzy climax is too hard to digest and sappily staged. Johan’s music, though occasionally jarring, attempts to reasonably do justice to the film.