Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay and Direction
Technical Aspects and Music
Gags & Laughs, but at a cost!
Overall, Aambala is a regular family drama that offers occasional laughs from its diverse star-cast but falls flat with the contrivances and stereotypes.
Cast: Vishal, Hansika, Prabhu, Vaibhav, Santhanam, Sathish, Ramya Krishnan, Kiran & others
Cinematography: Gopi Amarnath
Editing: Srikanth
Music: Hiphop Tamizha
PRO: Johnson
Story: SB Ramadas
Dialogues: Venkat Raghavan
Screenplay & Direction: Sundar C
Produced by: Vishal
Banner: Vishal Film Factory
Release Date: 15-01-2015
Run Time: 02:26:00
An ensemble star cast – a barrage of ladies, a handful of comedians, an ineffective villain, a freewheeling protagonist who falls in love with the heroine at the first sight and an old-fashioned storyline set in the backdrop of family-related misconstruals. That forms the essential structure of Sundar C’s Aambala. Sundar C is a surprising filmmaker. His screenplay can evoke riproaring laughter, like Kalakalappu, and can be nauseating fun, like Aambala. His brand of cinema has now familiarly come to be known as ‘rehashing the same old family dramas and spicing it up with sleazy jokes, gaudy costumes and tempting camera angles. Aambala is no exception.
Vishal runs an office that supplies men for political campaigns, public meetings, family functions etc. You name it, he will deliver a barrage of ostentatious crowd to blow your trumpet non-stop. One fine day, Vishal meets Hansika Motwani by chance and feels head over heels for her beauty immediately. Later, Hansika also falls in love with Vishal, though not in a flash. Instead, she conducts a mind-boggling test for Vishal in a hotel which would decide their fate of being together forever. In a multi-storeyed hotel, Hansika challenges Vishal to get into the lift and press the number of any floor as he wishes. She would also do the same. And, if they both happen to press the same floor, then she is his, for life. Vishal is the son of Prabhu’s estranged wife, played by Thulasi. Prabhu has a long-standing enemity with his three sisters – played by Ramya Krishnan, Kiran Rathod and Aishwarya – who detest the very sight of him. Hansika happens to be Ramya Krishnan’s daughter. How Vishal succeeds in his love life and unites his father, Prabhu,with his three sisters forms the plot.
The first half is dominated by Santhanam, who plays a police inspector and Vishal’s friend. He tirelessly leaves the hall in splits with his brand of gags and witty one-liners. Sathish and Vaibhav play Vishal’s brothers, and the former offer a fair amount of laughter in bits and pieces. It’s only in the second half do we get to see the entire star cast as the story shifts to the village Kovilur, where Prabhu’s sisters stay. Aambala is partly funny, partly cringe-worthy and replete with achingly tedious banalities and contrivances.
Hiphop Tamizha’s background score is good and he has made a noticeable debut in this family drama. After doing an utterly satisfying Pandianaadu and the experimental Naan Sigappu Manithan, Vishal’s choice of scripts in Poojai and Aambala look unimpressive. Hope he bounces back again in his next film with Suseenthiran.
Overall, Aambala is a regular family drama that offers occasional laughs from its diverse star-cast but falls flat with the contrivances and stereotypes usually associated with a Sundar C film.