Andhaghaaram Movie Review

Horror stories have been a part of Tamil ancient culture. From narrating the Poochaandi tales through the folklores to the best of its kind revenge seeking spine-chilling films, Tamil movies have proved of its unparalleled caliber. Or else, why would a reputed Hollywood Production House like The Weinstein Company would acquire the International rights of ‘Yaavarum Nalam’? Having said this, Tamil movie industry has churned out some of uniquely crafted spine-shuddering movies. However, it soon became a cup of coffee for everyone and the list has now turned into monstrous figures within a phase of 2-3 years.

With the trailer of Andhaghaaram unveiled few months ago, we could envisage an exceptional tale, where it wouldn’t be merely riding its piggyback with screams and cheap sound thrills. But guess what? The 2hrs-53mins supernatural drama keeps you dragged and dragged from beginning till end.

A simple tale of revenge narrated in non-linear format (This pattern is usually copied from those Hollywood film buffs). It looks like director Vignarajan wanted to attempt something unique with elite ingredients. But it is limited only to the terms that characters like ‘I visited a Columbia Zoo’, ‘Puller Shot’, ‘Leo Tolstoy’s Devil’. Come on guys! It always super-cool to exhibit one’s knowledge about world cinema and the exotically outlandish books you’ve read, but you’re making a Tamil movie. Maybe, the best limits could be creating the red-velvet flowered walls of a motel room (Courtesy to Stephen King-Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ or its sequel ‘Doctor Sleep’). Out of almost 3 hour show, just a couple of scenes and the climax, where the revelations are made alone look appropriate. Nonetheless, the story itself looks bleak as it owns a very weak writing.

With the wide array of direct OTT releases happening in the recent times, it looks like the directors have no issues of streaming them without any trims. If the same movie had been to the projector room of a single screen (We mean, before the arrival of Qube, where the theatre operators would cut the reels if they found particular portions sluggish or dragging), it would have ended up with a 90 minute version alone. Nothing to blame the actors for they have done their roles decently… Technically, it’s cinematography that keeps winning the brownie points from beginning till end. On the other hand, it’s a terrible and pathetic editing. It’s like the editor wants to win the attention of others by giving jarring cuts. Especially, the first 45 minutes, which in fact has no story at all is a baggage of montages and 50 cuts per second.

On the whole, Andhagaaram has nothing in special to boast about. Except for a couple of scenes and cinematography plus production designing, it has nothing to offer the audiences. Maybe, the synopsis and visual promos instilled in us more confidence, but it completely turns out to be a disappointment with the full length feature.