Aambala Review: Old Spice, New Tricks

In the season of horror films and others that require complex thought, Aambala offers a welcome respite. Quite like Sundar C’s Aranmanai, this Vishal film is all about easy, uncomplicated entertainment. The heroine’s not a ghost out for revenge nor is the hero a weightlifter-turned-model who runs afoul of powerful people. The movie is peopled (for the most part) with quick-witted and annoyingly good looking souls, with an unfortunate tendency to break into song and dance routines at the slightest provocation. It is here that we learn to be thankful for Hip Hop Tamizha’s hugely entertaining music. God bless them both.

As is the norm, there’s also Pradeep Rawat as the villain, so uncomfortably alien in the staunch Tamil surroundings that even his patented menacing expression falls flat.

*****

The absence of a solid plot leaves actors Vishal, Santhanam and Sathish to carry the film with their performances. Vishal, in particular, does his usual alpha male bit – he is the true Aambala we are told. Six feet plus of pure testosterone that can withstand even those bandhini shirts he sports; and makes short work of his opponents. In one memorable scene towards the end, Vishal aka Saravanan, confronts about a hundred bad guys. Just as we brace ourselves for another round of table-smashing action, Sundar C surprises us. Vishal just looks at the bad guys and decimates three quarters of the baddie population.

It is fair to call Aambala a well-dressed version of the typical 80s Tamil flick. A blue monstrosity (reminiscent of a smurfified Kushaldas Gardens) parading as a palatial mansion is where the action happens. Vijayakumar appears in a flashback sequence also featuring a kurta-wearing Prabhu, his wife and a past love. Which leads us to believe that this Aambala may just be an elegant, modern day sequel to KS Ravi Kumar’s Periya Kudumbam.

*****

Hard to miss is the fact that that the movie’s second half feels distinctly like a director Hari film. Action sequences are dime a dozen, and flying sumos become part of the scenery. Vishal atop a flying jeep does little to dispel the Poojai hangover in Aambala.

It is only in the sleazier portions of the film that we are reminded of Sundar C’s presence. Numerous close-ups of Hansika’s… behind later, we are left wondering about that ‘U’ certificate the film proudly bears.

Oh, well.

*****

The Aambala Review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.