'Aarathu Sinam' review: Arulnithi does a good job but Arivazhagan fails to match expectations

Film: Aarathu Sinam
Rating: **
Cast: Arulnithi,Aishwarya Rajesh, Aishwarya Dutta, Radharavi, Tulasi
Director: Arivazhagan

What it's about

This film is a remake of the hit Malayalam hit crime thriller Memories, directed by Jeethu Joseph and starring Prithviraj. At the outset, it is difficult to remake a film like this, yet producer Thenandal Films has attempted it with director Arivazhagan at the helm. Set in Madurai, the story revolves around Aravind (Arulnithi), a good cop, who becomes an alcoholic due to certain circumstances. Aravind lives with his caring mother and money-minded brother and just wants to drink himself to death. Then a case is assigned to Aravind and he is compelled to take it on. Why did Aravind lose himself to the bottle? What is this new case about? How does it affect Aravind?

What's good

It's not easy to live up to what actor Prithviraj has done in Memories but Arulnithi has done a good job of playing the alcoholic cop. The background score by Thaman must be appreciated in the film. Some of the shots by the cinematographer Aravind Singh (like the kids running in the paddy field) are visually quite appealing too.

What's not

Unfortunately, the way the movie has been scripted by Arivazhagan is just not gripping. The film starts with a good encounter and then just starts to dawdle and meanders along. There are no twists and turns and the flashback portion of the film hardly strikes a chord. Though Arivazhagan has tried to change it to suit local sensibilities, some elements simply do not work. Does an AC who lives in Madurai in real life live like Aravind? Aravind while investigating the case is not doing any investigation—he is just told things and he goes on a chase. The comedy the director has added by way of Robo Shankar just doesn't work and barely evokes any laughs. The casting is not apt either. Tulasi is clearly inadequate as the mother and director Gaurav Narayanan fails as the villain. Aishwarya Rajesh comes in a small role but her make-up overshadows her acting prowess.

What to do

While one didn't expect it to match the original film, Aarathu Sinam was disappointing as it didn't match low expectations either.