“Aadai” is directed by Rathna Kumar who gave us the quirky comedy hit "Meyadha Maan" last year. Aadai was in trouble for various reasons including the nude scenes in the film and was rated A. If you thought it was just one scene and what the fuss was all about, then you are wrong. Aadai is an experiment which has not been attempted by anyone in the Indian film industry under commercial format and that too with a leading actress.
Kamini (Amala Paul) works in a media firm and runs a program on deadly pranks. She is a feminist and likes to bet on anything. The day after shifting the office premises Kamini and her colleague friends (one girl and 4 boys) decide to spend more time celebrating her birthday. Next day morning she wakes up naked in the office with nothing and none around. What happened to Kamini and how she gets out of this unbelievable situation forms the rest of the film.
Amala Paul manages the gutsy role with ease. Being and acting nude for half of the film is not easy and she does a commendable job. Be it rocking the tom boy looks, the news reading sequences, her acting during the pranks especially the introduction scene, riding the KTM (honestly, shot better than the chasing in Kadarom Kondan) and then the crucial scenes in the second half ….she just eats up the role. Supporting actors like Ramya and Vivek Prasanna (don’t know the names of the others friends) also do well.
The first half of the film is interesting and it leads to a very thrilling situation making us ponder “Who did it” ….but no, director Rathnakumar dishes out something very different here. Revealing more will spoil the movie watching experience. The second half does have some logic constraints and infact the overall concept is little exaggerated. But then, the screenplay with some interesting scenes including comedy makes it a fascinating watch. Few comedy scenes were forced into the narration to make the film lighter which spoils the feel in between.
Big credit for the cinematographer Vijay Karthik. To capture the scenes aesthetically (nude) and without any vulgarity is appreciable. Background score could have been better. Editing is crisp but again the film felt little dragging towards the end…some trimming would have helped.
“Aadai” is also an honest attempt to drive home some message to the new generations. The director leaves you with a thought about feminism – where to draw the line between freedom, equal rights and the right to do anything (wear anything). Overall Aadai is a new experience in Indian commercial cinema. The team can take a bow for attempting and presenting it beautifully.
Rating – 3.25/5
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