Ayan……Entertaining!
-C. Karthik

Ayan Movie
Banner: AVM Production
Starring: Surya, Prabhu, Tamanna
Director: K.V. Anand
Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Producer: M. Saravanan, M.S. Guhan, Aruna Guhan, Aparna Guhan
 

AVM production’s Ayan is one of the first big releases of the summer. With a lot of hype created by ample advertising by Sun Pictures, this movie stars Surya and Tamanna in lead roles. Cinematographer K.V. Anand, who had earlier directed “Kana Kandein” is the director of this movie.

After Varanam Ayiram, Surya is out to prove himself in a completely different and lighter role. And judging by the crowd’s reaction when he is introduced and in the subsequent scenes, you just can’t believe the strides he has taken in Kollywood. It seemed like there were 5,000 people inside the movie hall when the crowd went berserk with every movement of his. Way to go!

A stylish looking Deva Veluchamy (Surya) comes home from abroad, speaking perfect English to the custom’s authorities. Little do we know now that he works for Arumuga Doss (Prabhu) and he is routing the CD of an unreleased movie in India from abroad. But cops smell something fishy and arrest both. Deva gets everyone out of trouble with the aid of a handy fall guy, Chitti Babu (Jagan), who offers to take the rap.

Jagan and Surya become friends, and after a few hilarious scenes, Surya bumps into Jagan’s sister Yamuna (Tamannaah), a B-Pharm student. The two fall in love. As the characters are sorted out, you realise there's more to Deva and Doss than just pirating CDs; they're engaged in wholesale smuggling with business operations as far-reaching as Likasi in Africa, from diamonds used to fund the local revolution to gold bars from a ship docked in the Chennai Port. But there's one thing Doss will never touch: drugs.

And of course, there's a villain here too: Kamlesh (TV actor Akashdeep Saigal, making his Tamil debut) whose father has been in the business except that the son wants to be the king-pin, and finds Deva and Doss too slippery to handle. In the midst of it all is customs officer J Parthiban (Ponvannan).

Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game, with one gang trying to outwit the other. Enmity flourishes as they con each other again and again. Who triumphs in the end is the rest of the movie.

K.V. Anand had earlier shown promise with a different story and screenplay in his debut Kana Kandein and so he does here too. It is evident that he has not tried to make a fool out of the movie-goer. There is a thread of logic in whatever the hero or the villain attempts to do. But one definitely gets a is-that-so-easy kind of feeling when diamonds and drugs are smuggled via customs every time. Yes, there are the usual fight sequences, the dance numbers and the song sequences but K.V.A has begged to be different from the clichés of Tamil cinema. The screenplay is good and shines well at times but it’s the dragging second-half which lets you down. There are enough twists and turns in the movie to keep the viewer engrossed.

Surya. Well, he has surely hit a purple patch and he surely lights up the screen with his versatile skills. It is all about screen presence folks and Surya definitely makes his presence felt in whatever he does. Be it fighting the rogues, running on roof-tops in Africa, romancing with Tamanna or having fun with Jegan, this guy just has a blast in the movie. No wonder the crowds (especially girls) go crazy whenever they see him on screen.

Tamanna has done her role some justice. Not just a dancing doll, she has acted well in the second half too. Her chemistry with Surya in the movie is worth mentioning.

Prabhu is extremely convincing as smuggler and Surya’s guardian. His voice and his body language suits his role and is very natural in his role.

Jegan carries the movie with Surya in the first half. He makes you laugh with his timely wits and makes us a little mushy in the second half. Renuka, a talented actor, has done a lively role as Surya’s mother. Ponvannan has done a good job too in his role as a Custom’s officer.

Though Akashdeep is perfect as a villain in this movie, his lip synching and voice modulation are poles apart and makes the character weak. In fact this could be the sore-point of the movie.

Harris Jeyaraj’s songs are topping the charts already. Though not Harris’ best, Pala Pala and Nenje lingers in your mind for long. But he seriously needs to do some thinking about his background score. The music, especially in the climax, is very amateurish.

M.S. Prabhu’s camera is brilliant at times. The chase sequences and the climax have been shot quite magnificently. The foreign locales and the songs are definitely a visual treat to the viewer. Anthony’s editing is as slick as ever. Rajeevan’s art is perfect too.

Ayan is a perfectly mixed cocktail of thrills, romance, comedy and fights. The first half of the movie moves at a good pace and the second half seems to drag a little bit. In typical Kollywood terms, it is a “commercial” movie with a lot of style. Watch it for the technical aspects and Surya.

Ayan is the ideal entertainer to signal the start of the long summer ahead!