At a time when there is a general feeling that family audience have dwindled considerably in theatres, producer AVM K Shanmugham seems to have taken a crusade to bring them back to cinema halls. His latest venture ‘A AA E EE’ is a simple tale about romance between four youths with a major thrust on father-daughter relationship. It has emotions and drama to attract family audience and at the same time enough ingredients to enthrall youngsters.
A remake of Telugu hit ‘Chandamama’ it is a clean and feel-good family entertainer. Director Sabapathy Dakshinamurthy deserves all credits for retaining the essence of the original making suitable changes for Tamil audience. With the right mix of experience and youth in the star cast, the movie proceeds on a right note with no hitches anywhere. The likes of veteran artistes Prabhu, Manorama and V M C Haneefa lends solidity to the characters they play while the young brigadiers comprising of Aravindh, Navdeep, Monica and Saranya Mohan oozes with right energy.
Vedachalam (Nagababu) is a do-gooder, who is rich and influential in his village. For him, his daughter Anitha (Monica) is everything. Anitha, who completed a fashion-designing course in Chennai, comes back to the village. Soon, elders in the family get her arranged with a local boy Ilango (Aravindh). He is an educated farmer and a gentleman, who is innocent and always ready to help others. When things proceed on a happy note, Anitha narrates a flashback to Illango which creates panic in him.
She has a lover called Akash (Navdeep) in Chennai. He is a fashion-freak, who is mischievous and loves to play pranks on others. Anitha believes that he has cheated her. But, the story takes a turn when Ilango decides to unite Anitha and Akash. Meanwhile, Eswari (Saranya Mohan), Anitha’s sister falls for Ilango’s innocence. How the couples get united forms the crux.
The director has narrated the sequence of events in a hilarious manner. Srinivasan’s dialogues are the major highlight. While Aravindh has utilized the opportunity coming out with a subdued but strong performance, Navdeep as a callous young man dazzles the screen. His body language and dialogue delivery fits the role like T. His onscreen chemistry with Monica is good.
Saranya Mohan, combines good looks and performance. She plays the role of a naughty young rural belle with perfection. Monica finally gets an opportunity to showcase her histrionics. She has ample opportunity to prove it which she had put use to. V M C Haneefa brings the roof down with his humor. As Ilango’s father, he carries it off convincingly. Manorama (as Ilango’s grand mother) has lived up to her reputation.
However, the real scene-stealer is Prabhu. He dons a dignified role that commands respect all through the flick. He brings out the travails of fathers who miss their daughters after their wedding. The rest of the cast including Kanja Karuppu, Livingston, Sathyan, Satheesh, Vasu Vikram play their part well.
Arul Dass’ cinematography is worth mentioning. He captures song sequences well providing a visual treat to our eyes. Vijay Antony’s songs remind us of his earlier tunes yet are good to listen.
If you can forgive thee first ten minutes of the movie, ‘A AA E EE’ is worth a watch. A florid bouquet can be given to Sabhapathy, for his guts to make a movie sans any hero worship or vulgar comedies.
Banner: AVM Productions
Cast: Navdeep, Mounica, Prabhu, Manorama, Aravindakash,
Saranya Mohan, V M C Haneefa, Livingston, Ganja Karuppu
Direction: Sabhapathi
Production: Kumaran, Shanumugam
Music: Vijay Antony