Production: Shoundaryan Pictures
Cast: Hardhika Shetty, Viddharth
Direction: Ananda Krishnan
Screenplay: Ananda Krishnan, Rajkumar Gupta
Story: Ananda Krishnan, Rajkumar Gupta
Music: Johan
Background score: Johan
Cinematography: N.S. Udhay Kumar
Dialogues: Ananda Kumar
Editing: M Ramesh Bharathi
Art direction: Vijay Anand
Stunt choreography: MAGESH
Dance choreography: MAGESH
Lyrics: Madhan Karky, Na Muthukumar, Vaali
PRO: Johnson
What does it do to a common man when he puts patriotism above his family? Aal is one such story. Ameer, a professor at Sikkim is having the time of his life, but one fine day, just like any other story, he's put in a fix that could go awry either ways. He just doesn't have a choice to save himself from a check-mate. One wrong move can kill his family.
Vidharth plays the role of Ameer quite convincingly. His act of somebody on the threshold of going through a stress-burst looked genuine and acceptable. Heroine Hardhika Shetty just comes for a song in the first half and is then left alone crying for the rest of the movie.
Script like this needs a gripping screenplay with lots of suspicion and mind-play. Aal goes low on such elements that could have taken us on a roller-coaster ride with thrilling elements. A superb premise to play with, but the director has failed to impress with a beating around screenplay and functional visuals. Sikkim portions lacked soul and Chennai was plain. The protagonist is on the go throughout the story, so BGMs have a big role to play. Johan's songs weren't head turners but the re-recording definitely added pace to the narration.
Aal is an unadulterated remake of Hindi film Aamir, which is a remake of a Filipino film Cavite.
Aal does have nail-biting sequences, but they come after some disengaging moments. A Tamil movie to have been shot near Parrys corner after almost forty years and the climax being shot at Anna Salai after 20 long years.
There is this moment in the climax that does instigate patriotism in us. A bit song in the background does all the magic. Best part of the whole film comes when you actually think the movie is almost over. A replica of a famous frame freeze effect by a high profile advertising company high on VFX is breathtakingly remade here, showing the after-effect of the film's climax. Wait for it and get surprised. Special mention to the brilliant graphic designers.
2.5/5.0
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