Aranmanai 3 Movie Review

Director Sundar C successfully scored brownie points with Aranmanai 1 & 2 and he now is back with the third installment. There was certain confidence over the film as Sundar C always manages to blend the humor and horror together. Although the first part was a lame replica of scenes from The Conjuring and the second part with many Hollywood and Korean movie references, it worked out best results due to the star-spangled cast. Well, Aranmanai 3 also hinted the same with the first look, but then, we don’t get what we expect from the movie.

The film opens with Jyothi (Rashi Khanna) as a child who experiences paranormal activities within her palace. Her father (Sampath) deserts her into the hostel and she is back after 18 years. Being the only heir to the palace, she starts witnessing paranormal activities yet again. Saravanan (Arya) is in love with her and wants to win her heart by all means. But sooner, everyone inside the palace becomes victim to the supernatural activities. Then enters Ravi (Sundar C), who discovers something beyond the ‘Ghost element’ within the palace…

Let’s start with the positive first as they are very limited. Usually, horror movies are inclined to the time-worn concept of ghosts seeking revenge. However, there seems to be a slight change in depicting it in Aranmanai 3 along with routine ghost elements. The first half is literally boring and it fails to elevate horror and comedy moments (Both the previous parts of Aranmanai had these in plenty). The interval twist is somewhat good, and it assures that there could be a substantial plot in the second hour. Naturally, the flashback sequences are convincing, but then, the extended climax becomes like a cartoon treatment. Maybe, director Sundar C might appear in an interview now and tell that was his actual plan – To make a fantasy-cartoon kind of horror movie. But still, it’s not engaging. Despite having comedy actors like Vivek, Yogi Babu, Mynaa, Manobala, the comedy elements are scarce. The only convincing part is the pre-climax comedy among these characters.

The songs by Sathya are good. The climax song pictured on Shankar Mahadevan and Hariharan deserves special mention.

When it comes to performances, Andrea Jeremiah gets more scope. Sundar C is the next one to get more substance with his character. The shocking fact is to see Arya in a blink-and-miss role. He hardly appears only in 25% of the film’s whole length. Rashi Khanna is merely used for the sake of glamorous elements. Sampath in the negative role is good.

On the whole, Aranmanai 3 is a huge disappointment. Sundar C seems to have become overconfident with the success of previous parts and has carelessly crafted the plot and screenplay of this movie.