*No Spoilers Ahead*
As you stroll down the dark cinema hall to watch Aayitha Ezhuthu and if you are a few minutes late, you might assume that the climax is around. So begins the latest Mani Ratnam flick Aayitha Ezhuthu. And hey, you needn’t worry for there is lot more to come and even if you miss this first scene, the scene repeats more number of times than the cost of your popcorn. Aayitha Ezhuthu is about serious cinema and not just for the popcorn eating cinema commoner.
Aayitha Ezhuthu’s premise is all about the rare species of progressive youths who are not opportunists and escapists from stamp paper scams and water-scarce society of the modern day India. It is Mani Ratnam’s expression of the angst against the middle class escapist mentality of the country and his endeavor to handover the country to such modern, intellectually progressive youth.
While conveying this Mani Ratnam chooses to adopt a style of film-making which is still in its experimental state, at least in India. The basic rule for the screenplay is that there no rules. There are only directives. Playing with this fact, Mani Ratnam has taken liberties to play with the style of film making. While he has adopted the classic structure that demands to introduce the characters, create the conflict and give an ending, he has just meddled with the timing of each the above mentioned components. Though I haven’t seen any of the movies they say has inspired Aayitha Ezhuthu like Ameros Perros, City of God or Kurasowa’s Rashomon, I personally think they might have had little to do with this film. As reported Aayitha Ezhuthu doesn’t sport overlapping events or even points of view. The movie, if observed meticulously, is told from a third person’s point-of-view.
In Mani Ratnam’s earlier super hit Alai Payuthey, the movie oscillates from the past to present and in one point the flashback merges with the present event. This same thing if you deploy as three flashbacks which gets merged with the present through a common incident, you get Aayitha Ezhuthu.
Pity the media as it reports the highlight lies in this connection of three stories to one point. It merely takes a pulp-fiction writer to manufacture such stories. The ‘Maathiyosi’(think different) lies in shaping these characters and using them to unfold the story in the later half. But in Aayitha Ezhuthu, the character build-up occupies for more than two thirds of the movie. The reason being all the three characters form the core of the movie and the movie details up their lives and their view of life. So every character’s story is detailed until which the other characters wait for their chance.
The risk involved in having such a story-telling style is that, relating to a character becomes tougher as there is no one central character that gets focused. It is only finally when the repercussion of that common incident gets focus, we clearly see the main theme and the protagonist of the movie. Despite these risks and shortcomings, it’s Mani Ratnam’s sheer ability to keep up the interest of the viewer with his character sketching. But after the two flashbacks and one common incident, one will tend to feel what the director wants to convey. Well, there is a long dense second half to come. But patience waits for none and you tend to loose it by the first half.
Madhavan as Inba Sekhar fails poorly to portray ‘the guy from streets’. Just because of Writer Sujatha’s Chennai slang the character of Inba Sekhar escapes without a curse. His Chocolate boy image and his intonations bring out the urban actor in him. With the kind of character that Mani Ratnam and Sujatha has etched out, one would expect a splendid and powerful performance from Madhavan. Though by his characterization Madhavan would tend to get noticed it is one of Mani Ratnam’s biggest mistake is to cast Madhavan for this role.
Surya as Michael Vasant, a child prodigy who comes from a middle class Christian family. Mike is rigidly violent and a genius of his own kind. Be it the way he rigs the politician or the way he proves that the universe is made of dense matter with a single equation, the character of Michael Vasant is here to stay with us. Surya has played his role very subtly like Kakkha Kakkha and gets full points for his perfect body language. Surya enters the flashback with the same walk into a mall just like Karthik in Mouna Ragam. The strength of his character doesn’t lie in all the powerful stunts he does with Madhavan but by the intelligent dialogue delivering skills of Surya.
Sidharth, the rascally flirtatious young man comes as a relief to the rather serious movie and his flashback just after the second half of the movie reminds us the romantic yester-year Mani Ratnam. For Sidharth is very natural and he portrays the present day $ dreaming yuppie youth. Actually it is Sidharth’s life that get entirely changed by the Napier Bridge incident and not the other two.
Bharathi Raja as Selvanayakam is convincing and does his role better than expected. A great find. Meera Jasmine who pairs Madhavan has done an appreciable job and it is her character that earns all the sympathy. Easha Deol’s character could be easily avoided because she does nothing more than just appearing on-screen. Trisha is also convincing as Meera.
Writer Sujatha again steals the show with his appropriate dialogues for the three characters. The difference he has shown in the dialogues of each character shows the genius he is.
Ravi K Chandran excels with his camera techniques, as expected. The kind of hand-in-hand exercise Ravi K Chandran, Editor Sreekar Prasad and Stuntman Vikram Dharma has done makes the stunts very remarkable.
Art Director Sabu Cyril is certainly a let down. His sets for Madhavan’s house, near the Chennai port is very artificial. The streets and roads leading to Madhavan’s house is clearly noticed as sets. We all know that each character gets a color. If only it was subtle, it would have won the praise. But these contrasting colors is so evident even in the sets and costumes. Madhavan’s neighborhood is fully painted red which makes it very artificial. For Surya, even the prison walls also are in Green. And the worst thing is for Sidharth, from the discotheque, his basketball walls and his bike, all feature blue. Even Trisha is forced to wear blue costumes to pair Sidharth. Not the kind of color thrust that we expect from a Mani Ratnam film.
Not all songs are picturised like typical Indian film songs. That’s however a relief. But Fanah and Hey Goodbye Nanba songs fill up that gap. A R Rahman also scores very subtly for Aayitha Ezhuthu. The extra bit song for Surya-Easha Deol in pallavan bus is a surprise. Mani Ratnam – A R Rahman deliver this surprise every time. Each character gets a theme of music and the music flows throughout the flash back for all the three characters. This background score is however very subdued and the difference can be heard only in a theatre. Having said that, this is certainly not the best of Mani Ratnam – ARR combo.
It is a fact that time pass films de-humanize the viewers and give a superman image to the heroes. Mani Ratnam has always tried to portray his heroes as practical humans. So he does that with class in Aayitha Ezhuthu too. Mani Ratnam spontaneously evolves towards the leftist line of thinking as his protagonist believes the change should not only be made in urbanized cities but also from villages like Neikaaranpatti.
Just like how Shakespeare’s Macbeth starts very sensationally with the introduction of the three witches, Aayitha Ezhuthu story starts right from the first second of the movie. It is just that Mani Ratnam takes time to set the dramatic need to the characters; the movie looses the chance to find a place in the viewer’s heart. If the movie fails it is because of this experiment that he has chosen to make. Though this effort may prove costly for him, Indian Cinema would go a long way because of such pioneering efforts. Mani Ratnam proves again that good film-making is an exercise in style.
kirukkal.com 
86 responses to “Aayitha Ezhuthu Movie Review – A True ‘Maathiyosi’”
I wasnt so sure that I would be able to read your
verdict about AE so soon. I can see an unbiased
fan of movies in you than a die hard fan of Mani. Good Job again Guru!
I’m not lucky enuf to watch AE but its possible to catch YUVA in action this weekend. Lets see.
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I wasnt so sure that I would be able to read your
verdict about AE so soon. I can see an unbiased
fan of movies in you than a die hard fan of Mani. Good Job again Guru!
I’m not lucky enuf to watch AE but its possible to catch YUVA in action this weekend. Lets see.
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Hi Guru,
The review of the film AE by you is simple & Classy.The Part by Part approach is very good.catching from frontside hero to the backside hero analysis is cool.Keep it up.Though you are a great fan of Mani Sir the review is unbiased & hope you will continue it in future.I haven’t seen th movie yet but when I watch it your thoughts are defenitely going to influence on me slightly.Good Job…
Regards
Narasi
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I like the review, but beg to differ with the “pseud” comment that this film is not for the popcorn eating commoner. The subject dealt by the film is very important for the popcorn eating commoner. I am sure Mani Sir meant to educate him also through the film, not only those who are standing outside the US embassies and consulates. Just because the style of presentation is a little different than the usual beginning-middle-end sequence, if you would label the film as serious cinema, then you would do gross injustice to the director’s attempt.
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I like the review, but beg to differ with the “pseud” comment that this film is not for the popcorn eating commoner. The subject dealt by the film is very important for the popcorn eating commoner. I am sure Mani Sir meant to educate him also through the film, not only those who are standing outside the US embassies and consulates. Just because the style of presentation is a little different than the usual beginning-middle-end sequence, if you would label the film as serious cinema, then you would do gross injustice to the director’s attempt.
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hey meenaks, completely agree with your comment. i am in no way to trying to defame the movie by calling it a serious movie. but it will be looked upon at as a serious movie by the commoner, is my humble opinion.
If only this movie is a hit like perazhagan or gilli i would agree this isn’t serious cinema. will it?
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whether its serious cinema or popcorn cinema, AE , much to the surprise, fails to make an impact on the audience..even though it had a very good message to convey…so. if i have to blame someone, that will be Maniratnam…
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This idea branding others’ “commoners” is a pretty dangerous level of pseudo intellect, more dangerous than the escapism that is being talked about.
Atleast the escapist can be called a survivor – what would the psud be?
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This idea branding others’ “commoners” is a pretty dangerous level of pseudo intellect, more dangerous than the escapism that is being talked about.
Atleast the escapist can be called a survivor – what would the psud be?
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Lazy, your review made me suffer an identity crisis 😦 Since I like to eat popcorn during films, I really dont know how to pigeonhole myself now. Can you please elaborate ‘popcorn eating commoner’? I guess on those lines, a reviewer like you would be liked to called a ‘croissant eating elitist’!!
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Dei Nilu ingeyum vandhuttiya :p
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Guru, Ur review was very good. On one side, I feel kind of let down by the movie (may be was expecting too much from Manirathnam) but on teh other side, happy to see a very unbiased review from you. Good job!
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nilu, i think he means the usual moviegoer who just hopes to come out of the theatre forgetting all his troubles and having a smile on his face.
Is this out on DVD in chennai?
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Siddharth was pretty good here. Unfortunately from here on out he’ll probably get the same old romantic roles Tamil cinema churns out. I hope he (and Madhavan and Surya) don’t have to wait for another Mani Ratnam film for an interesting role.
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Siddharth was pretty good here. Unfortunately from here on out he’ll probably get the same old romantic roles Tamil cinema churns out. I hope he (and Madhavan and Surya) don’t have to wait for another Mani Ratnam film for an interesting role.
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To me everything abt the movie is just so brilliant, the casting, the acting, the plot, the storytelling style. There are three main characters: Inba, Michael and Arjun, each unique and equally siginificant to the story. One is a pest, the other one focused and the last one an ordinary teenager. These characters were carefully explored and assimilated to a simple yet powerful story which is centred on changes. That itself was very beautiful to me and when you were offered such a feast, you will pardon all the minor faults if there were any..:)One word to wrap it up, excellent.
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Nilu, I don’t brand ‘OTHERS’ as commoners. i am trying to caution the set of people come out of the theatre forgetting all his troubles and having a smile on his face(as sujay remarked). i am saying they might not be interested in this serious cinema where experiments are made and the whole structure of the movie might look weird for them.
By using the word OTHERS(which I didn’t use in the review), you are trying to classify me as the pseud intellectual(which I am not). read my gilli review if you have doubts.
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Nilu, I don’t brand ‘OTHERS’ as commoners. i am trying to caution the set of people come out of the theatre forgetting all his troubles and having a smile on his face(as sujay remarked). i am saying they might not be interested in this serious cinema where experiments are made and the whole structure of the movie might look weird for them.
By using the word OTHERS(which I didn’t use in the review), you are trying to classify me as the pseud intellectual(which I am not). read my gilli review if you have doubts.
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An unbiased review..good job Lazy.And i am glad that atleast you had my opinion abt Madhavan in AE,the media was as such praising his performance,but i found it very artificial ,Madhavan struggles to do justice to the chararter,but that’s largely done by the other departments like dialogues,cuts and edits rather than Madhavan himself.I had my doubts even b4 watching the movie…
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I beg to differ with you abt madhvan..he actually made me believe tht he was infact a total psycho…He was really charming in the lighter scene and maybe a lil subtle in the action scence..but the 1st scene(the one in the jeep just before shooting)was awesome..infact it was a better performance than abhi in yuva..abhi was trying too much during the intense scenes…
Also wd like to add tht AE was much better than yuva mostly cos siddharth was much better than vivek..
Eaha cd have been avoided in both the movies..i dont even remember wht she did even though she takes more screen time than the other 2 girls..
It was a good movie but i wd have liked to see arjuns story in the 1st half and suryas in the 2nd..wd have made the 2nd half continuous…
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I beg to differ with you abt madhvan..he actually made me believe tht he was infact a total psycho…He was really charming in the lighter scene and maybe a lil subtle in the action scence..but the 1st scene(the one in the jeep just before shooting)was awesome..infact it was a better performance than abhi in yuva..abhi was trying too much during the intense scenes…
Also wd like to add tht AE was much better than yuva mostly cos siddharth was much better than vivek..
Eaha cd have been avoided in both the movies..i dont even remember wht she did even though she takes more screen time than the other 2 girls..
It was a good movie but i wd have liked to see arjuns story in the 1st half and suryas in the 2nd..wd have made the 2nd half continuous…
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Nice Review. But at same time, I feel that Madhavan did a decent job. I didnt find anywhere that he was a chocolate boy hero. Agreed that his dialogues and casting helped. But his was the best performance of the movie.
And one thing. Correct me if I am wrong. I have seen kaakha kaakha, AE and some surya movies. I find him a good actor. Thats it. But why is he being praised so much? He is good. But does he really deserve so much attention?
Even in AE, apart from the interaction with BharathiRaja, he doesnt seem to have done a stupendous job.
I liked the Sujatha dialogues between sidd and trisha. Pittsburg venkatachalapathy kovil la mottai poattukaren..Typical Mani dialogues.
Esha deol is a refreshing change to the eyes. Wish she acts in some more movies in Tamil 😀
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Can anyone tell me what the actual running length of Aaayitha ezhuthu is? The version that I downloaded off the internet runs for 142 minutes 🙂
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Lazy/Subra
Review was nice from your point of view.
But I disagree with your comments on Maddy.
I havent seen the movie,so lets see how maddy
has done this villainous role.
May be Maddy should have played Michael and Surya the villain ?
What do you think
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Vijay, it has 14 reels. slightly shorter than an average indian film.
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Vijay, it has 14 reels. slightly shorter than an average indian film.
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Everything is OK. Ofcourse, I liked the movie very much. Maniratnam clearly expressed the three characters, but where is the story?
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Why AyithaEzhuthu will work better than Yuva?
3 Reasons..
1.Surya -for- AjayDevgan
2.Madhavan -for- Abhishek Bachan
3.Sidhart – for – Vivek Oberai
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Why AyithaEzhuthu will work better than Yuva?
3 Reasons..
1.Surya -for- AjayDevgan
2.Madhavan -for- Abhishek Bachan
3.Sidhart – for – Vivek Oberai
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yo!man,I agree yes,it is serious cinema.Who ever said all movies were meant for everyone?I guess some movies only reach out to a niche segemnt’s sensibilities.Not all movie goers go to watch movies to forget their worries.Hey,all those who thought that movies were Stress busters,you guys r wrong.They are works of art meant to be appreciatd and the number of people it is appreciated by is no verdict of the quality of the movie.I say the movie is awesome and anybody who cant relate to it is just asking for run-of the-mill-Stuff.There couldn’t have been a better way to end the movie.
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hey guru..well analysed review.I totally loved aaydha ezhuthu..agree with almost all the points u have mentioned.
jus tat i felt trisha too wasnt tat important-jus like esha.and madhavan-he looks soo amazingly different.
on a different note,I am linking you..looking forward to ur posts..and gossips!
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this is research guys. not just review…..very good work…not the kind which rediff does.
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hi geek..good review..but i beg to differ on maddy..maddy’s earlier attempts of trying to play the angry young man with a violent bent of mind has flopped miserably..and those have beeN the times when ppl like me have wished that he’d go back to his chocolate boy days..wooing the heroine relentlessly and winning over women with his million dollar smile..but in this movie he has been different..realistic and brilliant..there have been qualitative shifts..in his body language..facial expressions and dialogue delivery..he came across as a tough youth who’d u wld probably bump into in such areas where he is shown to be living… guess it takes a director of mani’s calibre to bring out the best in an artiste..
abt the sets…heard from one of the movie promo shows.. that maddy’s house was put up in mumbai..and c’mon give sabu cyril the due credit..the sets werent that obvious..!
MAJOR CRIB ABT THE MOVIE…! HOW CAN MANI RATNAM.. THE GOD OF SONG PICTURIZATION MAKE A CRIMINAL WASTE OF THE ADNAN SAMI NO ” NENJAM ELLAM”..ITS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SONG…AS A TYPICAL INDIAN WHO ENJOYS SONG ROUTINES AND AN AR RAHMAN FAN..WISH IT WAS GIVEN ITS SHARE OF SPACE IN THE MOVIE..!
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Looks like Lazy would have preferred Vijay in the role of Inbasekhar to Madhavan 🙂 correcta Lazy?
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Looks like Lazy would have preferred Vijay in the role of Inbasekhar to Madhavan 🙂 correcta Lazy?
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Your review is very objective. I enjoyed reading the same!I have seen only Yuva and not Aayitha Ezhuthu and felt Lallan played by Abhishek Bachan (Madhavan in Tamil) lingers in memory…AB i felt was the apt choice for the role..he melts the audience with his eyes and makes them hate him when he abuses his wife. It is here Manirathnam has brought the best of the character. Ajay Devgan and Vikram have acted well..but somehow one cannot escape the feeling that Vikram was given full attention.
I agree with you about Madhavan not being able to get out of the Chocolate boy trying to break the Urban myth! I feel Maddy is at a position trying to diversify his characteristics…if you remember well.. Arvind Swamy did the same with a terrible movie called Thaalatu and Pudhyal which i would say cost his career! Madhavan would prevail if he chooses Urban roles from not so urban background like Dum Dum Dum and Run.
All said and done if the movie makes penny broke students like me to travel 2 hours up and down to find a theater that plays the Indian movie Yuva, pay $10 for the ticket…i think full credit goes to the movie and it maker(s).
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Why are the reviewers still against YUVA? I don’t understand. What have they got against the film? Check out Indiafm. That guy still is going on about how bad YUVA is. To prove his point, he lists YUVA as a flop in his BOx office report, even though the film is supposed to be running well. Rediff had it as an average grosser in its report. Whatever makes him happy, I guess.
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Raman, If I were to cast the inbasekhar role it would be kamalhassan, blindly. but kamalhassan is too good an actor who can suit all the three roles in aayitha ezhuthu.
vijay will fail very very bad. ajith can’t race through inba’s role.
vikram can do justice to inba’s role. what ya say?
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Yeah, I was just kidding 🙂 I agree with you on Vikram. He has the ruggedness and the body language to easily pull off the Inba character with extreme conviction.
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Yeah, I was just kidding 🙂 I agree with you on Vikram. He has the ruggedness and the body language to easily pull off the Inba character with extreme conviction.
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Well Mani wanted Vikram to do that role,but Vikram declined tht offer coz it was a 3 hero subject.Read this in jr vikatan sometime back.
Anyways personally I think Madhavan’s done a commendable job & the guy shud be given credit for his earnest try to shake off his urban image.Yeah he did falter a bit with his local dialect…but demeanour totally fitted the role he was playin’.
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I was shocked. Is this the same lazygeek who wrote that brilliant review of Virumandi… just a month ago… what has happened… a more consoling thought strikes me – maybe like those “celebrity” columns in newspapers, someone has ghost-written this? But I am being generous… disappointing. Is this a good movie? You have seen Nayagan… Alaipayuthe… Kannathil… and have praised them… the same person calls this movie good? And Madhavan – touch your heart and say, that scene where Meera Jasmine comes home after an abortion, did Madhavan not move you to tears? Was he not honest in every single scene, in every gesture…? And Surya was good, agreed – but just that.
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Superb story idea… I can imagine Mani sitting near his writing desk and conjuring this premise… 3 men… totally different… meet… explosive meeting… high tension conflict… stunning resolution… a masterpiece! What superb opportunities! Wow! And then he gets down to writing it… the men… they meet… Hah! What a nice way to present these scenes!… OK, we have established the characters… now the meeting… they meet… then… then what… then what… oh, this is so tiring… let me give up… Yuva in Hindi… Simultaneously Aaytha Ezhuthu in Tamil… 11 actors… superb posters… IIFA premiere… wow! … the script?… To hell with that! … Anyway, I have Cartoonist Madan and the likes of him to defend my movie… he is sure to say something stupid like, “Mani Sir has blasted the revered Classic Three Act Structure… we Tamil audiences must go to the theatre with an open mind…”… well… there’s something about this script that is bugging me… something about it – Oh Hell! Forget it!… International Premiere… Bilingual ! —– The script lay forgotten there… 180 pages … Maniratnam’s screenplay… the same mind that penned Kannathil Mutthamittal… Iruvar… today, Aaytha Ezhuthu… the screenplay lay on the table, its Cover Page bearing the freshly stamped “FINAL DRAFT”… the table lamp is switched off by Mani, as he gets up to go for his Casting Session… the screenplay lay there… abandoned… the fate of the movie sealed that very minute… more than a year ago.
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Prasanna, thanks for your comments. well thought about one on Mani Ratnam’s forgotten script.
Well, as i have written in the review, the first half was first-off. however the second half had too much to say. And Mani Ratnam wanted to emotionally say that the country needs the youth in the bureaucrazy(!). Havin picked this up, his approch has failed to keep the audience glued to the seats.
howeverm i liked the second half. just actions don’t speak in a movie. your dialogue delivery should match your body language in any movie. madhavan fails to deliver there. about the madhavan-merra jasmine-abortion scene, we have much more emotional encounters in Mani Ratnam’s movies. this is just one of them. just banging your head on your wife’s head and giving the ‘tough man’ silent cry isn’t enough.
there are some movies where actors make the characters more interesting. some vice versa. inba sekhar is a well etched character so madhavan’s steals the show. or may be i am too expecting from him. i have reasons. it is not a yet-another-director movie. It is Mani Ratnam film. So I expect. any wrong?
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Prasanna, thanks for your comments. well thought about one on Mani Ratnam’s forgotten script.
Well, as i have written in the review, the first half was first-off. however the second half had too much to say. And Mani Ratnam wanted to emotionally say that the country needs the youth in the bureaucrazy(!). Havin picked this up, his approch has failed to keep the audience glued to the seats.
howeverm i liked the second half. just actions don’t speak in a movie. your dialogue delivery should match your body language in any movie. madhavan fails to deliver there. about the madhavan-merra jasmine-abortion scene, we have much more emotional encounters in Mani Ratnam’s movies. this is just one of them. just banging your head on your wife’s head and giving the ‘tough man’ silent cry isn’t enough.
there are some movies where actors make the characters more interesting. some vice versa. inba sekhar is a well etched character so madhavan’s steals the show. or may be i am too expecting from him. i have reasons. it is not a yet-another-director movie. It is Mani Ratnam film. So I expect. any wrong?
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Hi Lazy,
just after seeing AE i am writing this.AE joins the likes of “Thiruda Thiruda”.i dont know wat s missing in the film but after watching i felt i have not watched a good or brilliant film.
For me tamil industry means it is Mani and Kamal but after watching this movie i feel now it is only kamal left alone.
This is wat will happen when audience reject a brilliant film like “kannathil Muthamittal”, the creator goes mad and comes up with some stupid stuff like AE.
CLIMAX scene is where they show the assembly hall looks like tat it has been shot by some amateur director.A BIG Dissappoinment!.
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Has anybody mentioned the fight scene just before the climax? i felt it was pathetically shot, with no realism.
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this is film is not abt maathiyosi, it s abt mandakayrayosi.
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this is film is not abt maathiyosi, it s abt mandakayrayosi.
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AE IS A BRILLIANT MOVIE.SIDDHARTH WAS SUPERB…I REALLY LIKED THE CHARACTER ‘ARJUN’
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I don’t think Esha Deol was necessary in the film. Unfortunately there always seems to be this “seven brides for seven brothers” tendency in Tamil cinema where all the heroes have to have heroines.
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Hello Mr. Maniratnam,
I happened
to watch your YUVA / AE movies, both movies twice each so far. I just
wanted to congratulate you for making the best Indian movie up to date. I
took all my American and Indian friends for the movie, and they all
loved it. I mean, they all said that this was not like any other Indian
movie, which just has some love story with songs in it. I am a big fan of
action movies, and if it’s action for a cause and effect, what more can
I expect …
Your movie had a great theme, beautiful screenplay (establishment of
the three characters, the aftermath, and the climax), mind-blowing music
and BGM, excellent acting performances, and above all, the best
direction.
Please keep making these classics and make us all proud of our Indian
movie industry !! Hats off to you SIR …
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nice review lazy…enjoyed reading it…
Lazy, I dint like AE that much…was disappointed with the picturisation of songs…and the movie seemed to end abruptly…and somewhere in between i even found it boring…dunno why…but AE seemed like a recap of all movies that Manirathnam has made before…was like a lift and join of ideas from them…guess expectations were huge from AE and thats what dampened it all the more…:-)…i am sure “Mani Saar” (:-)) would have immensely enjoyed making the movie, but then he must’ve kept in mind the audience as well…movie making is definitely a passion for him and he likes to do it his way and we’ve liked all what he has done so far…guess thats what hyped the expectations for AE…anyways, this is just my two cents…
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nice review lazy…enjoyed reading it…
Lazy, I dint like AE that much…was disappointed with the picturisation of songs…and the movie seemed to end abruptly…and somewhere in between i even found it boring…dunno why…but AE seemed like a recap of all movies that Manirathnam has made before…was like a lift and join of ideas from them…guess expectations were huge from AE and thats what dampened it all the more…:-)…i am sure “Mani Saar” (:-)) would have immensely enjoyed making the movie, but then he must’ve kept in mind the audience as well…movie making is definitely a passion for him and he likes to do it his way and we’ve liked all what he has done so far…guess thats what hyped the expectations for AE…anyways, this is just my two cents…
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and lazy, what was that “extra bit song for Surya-Easha Deol in pallavan bus”….do u mean the one with Sidhdharth and Trisha ???
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I saw the movie and then read your review. Though I didnt agree with you on a lot of point it’s a well written review. Well lets come to the points I didnt agree with:
1. Madavan – Well I dont agree with you when you say “Mani Ratnam’s biggest mistake is to cast Madhavan for this role” I think madavan for his part has done a good job. Granted there are lots of mistakes, the english words spoken with impeccable accent and the sophisticated bondy language in certain scenes. But all in all maddy has done well….
2. Esha’s character…. well being the romantic that i am and well I must admit one of the reasons that I do love mani’s movies is the subtle way in which he handles romance .I think the surya and esha’s romance was the best of the three…and worth the screen time – however short
3. About the colors – I thought they were subtle and not really in your face.
4. Last but not least this is a comment to your comment “If only this movie is a hit like perazhagan or gilli i would agree this isn’t serious cinema. will it?” – come on now… just because a movie is a hit doesnt mean it’s not serious cinema..Indian movie goers enjoy serious cinema and always have….:)
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its the best movie i had ever seen……maathavans acting is superb and surya is a genius…..sidharth did it really well….
i like surya most and he is the next superstar in my opinion………….bharathiraja also a amazing acter…….a.m rathnam did his part well to the tamil cinema world….at last its a biggest hit……..hoooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Aayitha Eyuthu
When I walked into the cinema hall, a million adjectives were floating around in my head. All these adjectives were the ones that the media, friends and others have slapped on to the movie. Adjectives from brilliant, mind blowing to normal, okay types,…
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Geek Kanna,
Although I disagree with your comments in several places, this is, indeed, an interesting analysis of the movie.
Actually, Madhavan fared quite well in his character portrayal; perhaps you have difficulty accepting his role owing to the quantity of chocolate-boys he has done in the past.
Next, someone else up there mentioned Surya as being good and nothing more. I am trying extremely hard not to yell this out, but, the man has CLASS – can we please grant him that? Othhukongalein ya! I doubt if any other actor, the deified Kamal Hasan included, could pull it off as suavely as he did. See, good acting is good, but classy acting is, rare.
No. 3, someone else up there (too many posts to find out who said what), felt the movie was a cut and paste job from Ratnam’s previous works. This, if anything, is precisely what it is NOT! Am sorry, perhaps I missed a whole bunch of Ratnam’s movies, but err.. which of his works emphasized Youth action as this one did? No, seriously, tell me!
Finally, I am curious to know what people thought of the “Jana Gana” track? Heh? Heh?
-Vengayam.
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The movie was like totally awesome! =D I watched it twice and I won’t hesitate to watch it again! I’m a HUGE fan of Siddharth and I like Maddy too.But I like Siddarth more. I LOVED Boys and I hope they make more movies with Siddarth as the lead male artiste. =P
Go Ayitha Ezhuthu! Go Siddharth! Go Mani Ratnam!
~ Anonymous =P
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The movie was like totally awesome! =D I watched it twice and I won’t hesitate to watch it again! I’m a HUGE fan of Siddharth and I like Maddy too.But I like Siddarth more. I LOVED Boys and I hope they make more movies with Siddarth as the lead male artiste. =P
Go Ayitha Ezhuthu! Go Siddharth! Go Mani Ratnam!
~ Anonymous =P
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3 cheers (gilli,ayuthaezthu,varsham) to 3sha…
checkout http://www.3sha.com , a dedicated fan site for Trisha Krishnan. You can download 100s of photos, gallery, wallpapers, screensavers, calendars and more.
enjoy.
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HMMMM,…i saw Yuva but could not see ayuth.ez..
I feel that the the tamil version is better than the hindi and here are the suggestions for a few roles
1.surya-rajni kanth
2.maddy -vijay kant
3.siddhart-dhanush
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Why is this film or was this film discussed?
Was there any solid reason for gloryfying or De- Gloryfying this film?
This film never left an impact on the audience, not to mention the Brand MANI RATNAM stamped on it.
I still have no clue why this was named AAYUTHA EZHUTHU while YUVA was more appropriate.
1- zero justification for all the three characters, why should we go through all the nonsenswe of watching their private lives when they hold no potential?
2- the subject was not justified, there is a macro prespective to it and a micro prespective, i just dont see both of them being qualified by the director who claims that he has more to it than it meets the eye.
3- who is siddarth in the movie? i would definitely like to know , what does he hold for or against all other characters in the movie?
4- a good climax but characters dis assembled for the sake of it is the height of audacity.
sorry but hype alone is not THE ingredient for success.
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Why is this film or was this film discussed?
Was there any solid reason for gloryfying or De- Gloryfying this film?
This film never left an impact on the audience, not to mention the Brand MANI RATNAM stamped on it.
I still have no clue why this was named AAYUTHA EZHUTHU while YUVA was more appropriate.
1- zero justification for all the three characters, why should we go through all the nonsenswe of watching their private lives when they hold no potential?
2- the subject was not justified, there is a macro prespective to it and a micro prespective, i just dont see both of them being qualified by the director who claims that he has more to it than it meets the eye.
3- who is siddarth in the movie? i would definitely like to know , what does he hold for or against all other characters in the movie?
4- a good climax but characters dis assembled for the sake of it is the height of audacity.
sorry but hype alone is not THE ingredient for success.
LikeLike
Why is this film or was this film discussed?
Was there any solid reason for gloryfying or De- Gloryfying this film?
This film never left an impact on the audience, not to mention the Brand MANI RATNAM stamped on it.
I still have no clue why this was named AAYUTHA EZHUTHU while YUVA was more appropriate.
1- zero justification for all the three characters, why should we go through all the nonsenswe of watching their private lives when they hold no potential?
2- the subject was not justified, there is a macro prespective to it and a micro prespective, i just dont see both of them being qualified by the director who claims that he has more to it than it meets the eye.
3- who is siddarth in the movie? i would definitely like to know , what does he hold for or against all other characters in the movie?
4- a good climax but characters dis assembled for the sake of it is the height of audacity.
sorry but hype alone is not THE ingredient for success.
LikeLike
Why is this film or was this film discussed?
Was there any solid reason for gloryfying or De- Gloryfying this film?
This film never left an impact on the audience, not to mention the Brand MANI RATNAM stamped on it.
I still have no clue why this was named AAYUTHA EZHUTHU while YUVA was more appropriate.
1- zero justification for all the three characters, why should we go through all the nonsenswe of watching their private lives when they hold no potential?
2- the subject was not justified, there is a macro prespective to it and a micro prespective, i just dont see both of them being qualified by the director who claims that he has more to it than it meets the eye.
3- who is siddarth in the movie? i would definitely like to know , what does he hold for or against all other characters in the movie?
4- a good climax but characters dis assembled for the sake of it is the height of audacity.
sorry but hype alone is not THE ingredient for success.
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love pannuradukku edum vazhi irundha sollunga kekkala idhi dhirai vimarshanam top 10 idulam enakku pudikkadu puriudha olunga vera velaiya parunga sariya edum nalla ponnu love panna irundha sollunga love pannalam ennoa muhavari umamaheshvar@yahoo.com bye
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it would be much better if inba’s character is played by surya and michel’s role played by madhavan. coz maddy doesnt fit the goonda character where as surya will be perfect in any role (remember his role in pithamahan).
if this movie had came in the early 80s, the 3 characters will be perfect with,
kamal as surya
sathyaraj as madhavan
karthik as siddarth
wat u say guys
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it would be much better if inba’s character is played by surya and michel’s role played by madhavan. coz maddy doesnt fit the goonda character where as surya will be perfect in any role (remember his role in pithamahan).
if this movie had came in the early 80s, the 3 characters will be perfect with,
kamal as surya
sathyaraj as madhavan
karthik as siddarth
wat u say guys
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YUVA: As I began to recollect my science teacher telling that white light is composed of mainly red, green and blue, I thought of what could have been on the mind of our countrys finest director.
There lives in the slum streets, a man who seeks the gun to get big money and status. He serves the politicians ill deeds, spoiling his own hands .
There was this man who would challenge anything he feels is wrong. He would even challenge the dirty politicians by contesting in the elections as an opposition .
There, in the dim-lit, smoky, freaky discotheque, the guy syncs his hips and hops with beauteous babes. He dreams: no violence, no challenges, just girls, and fun, and US
and these are the three shades in the spectrum of todays young men the three shades of YUVA.
A ManiRatnam film: As every ManiRatnam film has its own tale to tell, AYUTHA EZHATHU (Tamil version of YUVA) tells about the strength of young men and how each guy can sum up to make a strong nation.
The climax of the film shows a strong young man sitting in the assembly hall. That shows, the end of the film is a start for young men in this country to take the ruling pride.
But YUVA, the lifestyle of young men, runs fast. YUVA, the film, too runs fast. And ManiRatnam is the kind, who makes compact frames and leaves the rest for the viewer to understand. So some moments of the film look abrupt and absurd for a normal filmgoer.
The Last Line: Its nice to see a ManiRatnam film. Its a fortune to listen to his story. And its a Bliss to understand the inner sense of it.
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Mani Ratnam and the “relative grading” syndrome!
Guest Blog 14 – Anand C Good students are good students in the Indian education system, regardless of how well others perform. You get “first class” if you have 60%. Simple! However in the American educational system you could get…
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i watched AE with my parents when i was on holiday to india. i liked the role of siddharth.i think a lot of youth today can identify with it.but the movie was itself quite torturous. some scenes were unnecessary. i hope MN doesnt make a habit of this annoying oscillation bet. past and present. the movie was not shot well. i.e there was no cohesion bet. the scenes.no flo. however, MN has used his name to try to change the mentality and bring about some change in the country. that is something to be appreciated.
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i watched AE with my parents when i was on holiday to india. i liked the role of siddharth.i think a lot of youth today can identify with it.but the movie was itself quite torturous. some scenes were unnecessary. i hope MN doesnt make a habit of this annoying oscillation bet. past and present. the movie was not shot well. i.e there was no cohesion bet. the scenes.no flo. however, MN has used his name to try to change the mentality and bring about some change in the country. that is something to be appreciated.
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Hi!
Quite impressed with this review!!
One drawback of the review is, the lack of any mention on Bharathi Raja and Madhavan interaction in this movie. I felt that it is the only redeeming feature in an otherwise boring movie. Particularly the BGM in the scene where madhavan carries a gun and comes to meet BR is scintilliating!!!
thanks,
Jaiganesh
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Friends,
Sorry to keep reminding you again.
The spelling (in Tamil) should be
aytham (or aaytham)
not ayitham
not ayutham
When we choose to utilise such items as ezuththu in cinema, it should be taken care properly.
Lots of kids goin to learn the wrong thing in Tamil Grammar.
it is aytham (read the spelling properly)
If in doubt go and read some reputable Grammar books.
Do not repeat this mistake again and again as you will teach other kids the wrong thing.
nantry
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hai sdiu hwry?iam kanthi your ac i a men your fan thank your beautiful movie in people.
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hai sdiu hwry?iam kanthi your ac i a men your fan thank your beautiful movie in people.
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hi surya;
surya is becoming very smarter in his movies. day by day he is looking very good. he has become junior kamal haasan. surya’s first name is power star surya.he is changing his get ups good going surya no one can reach u all the best
regards
Yuvraj
from bangalore
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bad film
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awesome weblog – massive post
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Excellent work by both SURYA and MADHAVAN.frankly speakin,i’vent seen aayitha ezhuthu but hav seen YUVA.Sorry for that.Cudn’t see move under some circumstances.So mannichiringo.Oh no,i’m speakin tamil…..I’m a maliyaalee………….but craze of u guys…..I admire MADHAVAN so..much.Had a plan to keep in tuch with him but then i heard,he’s very much elder.So left it out.But i luv him so……much in all ways.But i think u madhav is so hot-tempered.Am i rite???I realised.Have a control in it.Paavam ur wife……..Best kannaas best.May god bless u both.I just saw Kaagha kaagha of urs & i liked ur luks…..Great man…….Congrags for ur wedding….Luv ur wife Jyothika too……………
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Aayitha Ezhuthu titles – an easter egg?
Guest Blog #22- Anand C I’ve heard of programmers dropping little “easter eggs” in their code that only they know of… things like a funny face appearing if the 29th of February falls on a Friday… or a Pixar character’s…
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