Despite the presence of talented actors and ambitious ideas, 'Aghathiyaa' transcends various genres and is a forgettable outing.
A poster of the film 'Aghathiyaa'. (X)
Popular lyricist, poet and writer Pa Vijay, who made his directorial debut with Strawberry a decade ago, went on to wield the megaphone for another film Aaruthra in 2018.
A while ago, he announced that he was going to make a fantasy drama titled Aghathiyaa, starring Jiiva and Arjun in lead roles, leaving movie buffs excited.
Aghathiyaa starts with an aspiring art director who is excited as he has landed an opportunity to unleash his talent for a movie. However, the film’s producer cancels the project due to reasons best known to him, leaving the former dejected and furious.
His girlfriend suggests he convert the props and sets he created for the movie into a scary house to attract visitors. Little do they know that a special piano they come across at a garage which they later added to their props collection would change their fortune in different ways.
The art director gets the shock of his life when he learns that he is connected to several incidents that happened 80 years ago in Puducherry.
A still from the film ‘Aghathiyaa’. (X)
The biggest positive of Aghathiyaa is its unpredictable nature. From establishing the plot without any unnecessary deviations to characters that drive the story organically, the suspense factor builds up interestingly.
The elements of horror and fantasy go hand-in-hand quite entertainingly. The emotional connection, too, works in favour of the story. The intertwined events that happened in the 1940s and 2020s add believability to the totality of the story. The protagonist realizing a purpose to his life and his quest for his past keep the audience entertained.
On the downside, Aghathiyaa suffers from tacky VFX, which acts as a big blow to some of the ambitious episodes. The colour grading is overdone and it doesn’t help the viewers to immerse in the period portions.
The climax action portion offers an unusual experience, thanks to the mish-mash of varied background scores, motion-picture technology and over-the-top fights. It leaves us with a mixed feeling as the fascinating set of ideas fails to materialize on screen.
While the two lead actors’ character arcs are approached with utmost care, others do not enjoy the same privilege. The supposedly comic moments are lukewarm and action sequences lack punch.
A few dialogues that endorse alternative medicine aren’t convincing. The idea of blending the traditional medicine practice with our culture and pride is irrelevant and sticks out like a sore thumb.
Jiiva impresses as the art director who goes in search of his past, but the role doesn’t offer any challenges to him. Arjun exudes swag and possesses the subtlety required for the role of an ancient doctor.
Radha Ravi makes his presence felt with his body language while Charlie and Rohini are decent with their performances. The two of them deserved better writings for their respective characters though.
Raashi Khanna appears as the namesake female lead. The likes of Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh and Sha Ra have nothing to do. Edward Sonnenblick impresses as the crooked antagonist while Matylda has managed to attain a decent role.
The ideas are big and laudable, but the execution falters owing to disappointing technical aspects. With an interesting set of actors and a likeable plot, Aghathiyaa deserved better writing, too.
Sadly, the movie that transcends various genres is a forgettable outing.
(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)
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