.jpg)
I have never liked to be called a fan of director mysskin, but looking at my constant urge to watch his movies as early as possible, I guess I have to admit that I am. Coming after the poor response to his Mugamoodi, with lesser known stars and limited publicity, Onaiyum Aatukttiyum has surpassed my expectations.
The story is about how a young medical college student (Sri) who attempts to save an injured man on the road and succeeds. The trouble is that the man whom he has saved is a notorious criminal and goes by the name of 'Wolf'. The police arrest Sri and his family for aiding a criminal. In the process, he gets caught in a strange turn of events, as a result of which he finds himself in in the middle of a gang dispute. As the night moves to a dawn, all is not what it seems to be. Who is good? Who is bad? Who will survive? The answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
I do not understand why Mysskin would have had to cast himself for the role of 'the Wolf; even though he emotes well, I can see a lot of actors who would have been physically more convincing at the role. But other than that, the casting is quite excellent.
The movie has all the typical things that you would expect from a Mysskin's movie: an over-the-top villain, people in the lead role often torn between impossible choices, disabled people playing an important part and so forth. Hell, there is even a scene when the lead-actor takes a dying man in his bike - a repeat of similar scenes from 'Anjaathey' and 'Mugamoodi'. Also, thankfully, the movie does not have the few Mysskin regulars such as the Yellow-Saree-Clad-Item-Number to entertain 'the masses'.
In fact, the movie does not have any songs and also, the lack of any attempt at humor is such a relief, after watching a flood of comedies in the recent weeks. For a change, everyone - not just the main cast - seem to turn up with brilliant performances: the police constable at gun point, the prostitute who saves 'the Wolf' at gun point, and even the watchman at the mall who gives refuge seeing the plight for safety.
For once the camera beautifully captures Chennai at night. Ilayaraja's background score is to be appreciated, not just for the haunting and heart-rending title score, but also for the moments he leaves silence to speak. The fight scenes are well choreographed - watch out for the fight between the two Ninja fighters and the Wolf -and the editing is top notch.
There are a few questions which Mysskin doesn't bother explaining: like why the Wolf would go to so much trouble to seek the help of Sri, why he would give the pistol to the blind man in the firing line, why would Sri not warn the Wolf when he sees a gunman approaching them in the cemetery and so on. Perhaps, it is for us to infer from what we see! I would definitely give it another viewing!
So, overall, it is a decent thriller with a few poignant moments - definitely worth watching more than all non-sensical comedies releasing the every other week.
A definite 3.5/5.
