AAHAA!

 

This is one of those movies where the title fits the movie perfectly!  Irrespective of your taste or the extent to which you are passionate about movies, you are guaranteed to come out of the theater saying, “Aaha!”  In spite of heavy competition from two extremely popular Rajni movies (“Annamalai” and “Baasha”), this is Suresh Krishna’s best movie as a Director and in spite of several popular Kamal Hassan movies (“Michael Madhana Kamarajan,” “Aboorva Sahodharargall” and “Sathi Leelavathy” leap to mind), this is Crazy Mohan’s best as a dialogue writer.  50% of the movie’s success should be attributed to Mohan’s unforgettable dialogues and the other 50% to the cast, several of whom give memorable performances.  Rounding it off are Suresh Krishna’s taut screenplay (borrowing a bit from “Kudumbam Oru Kadhambam,” “Manal Kayiru” and the Malayalam movie “Bharatham”) and assured direction.  This is one of the best ‘family entertainers’ committed to the screen.

 

“Aaha” is the story of a Brahmin family and the experiences of the characters in it.  The members include Vijaykumar and Srividya, who live in a joint family with their two sons, Raghuvaran (and his wife played by Bhanupriya) and debutant Rajiv Krishna, their daughter and Vijaykumar’s parents.  Others in this household are Raghuvaran’s son (Master Mahendran) and their family’s driver (driver+confidant+all-in-all!) played by Kavithalaya Krishnan.  In a lively prologue, the movie introduces these characters with witty one-liners.  So, we start out getting a vague idea of these characters.  What the movie does, and it does this brilliantly, is to get deeper into these characters by exploring their various facets (Raghuvaran, Bhanupriya and RajivKrishna are the most three dimensional, ‘human’ characters) by showing their plus points, their flaws, their sensibilities...  Thanks to the screenplay written by Suresh Krishna and late Ananthu, we get to know these characters really well and almost share their joys and sorrows.  Delhi Ganesh plays a cook, Rajiv Krishna falling in love with his daughter (played by Sulekha). 

 

Delhi Ganesh steals the first half of the movie with his impeccable dialogue delivery, Mohan’s dialogue giving him one hilarious line after another (the ‘death’ scene evokes spontaneous belly laughs with a series of laugh-out-loud lines).  He delivers it with relish and enhances several conversational pieces with his timing and intonation.  His experiences with his workers (Dhamu and Crazy Venkatesh are at the receiving end of most jokes) form some of the funniest moments of the movie.  A sample—“Samaikkardha Dhonnaila Poadaama Keezha Poatta, Apram PulTharai PuliyoTharai Aayidum!”  The scenes showing Vijaykumar’s family are delightful, and capture a Brahmin household in all its authenticity, the “Krishna Jayanthi” scene being a case in point. So is the Anthakshiri scene where all the characters get to sing bits of songs that fit their characters, the best being Bhanupriya's rendering of the "Azhagiya Raghuvarane" line from the song "Ninukori," and Raghuvaran's reaction. 

 

The first half of the movie establishes all the characters in one way or another, in preparation for the situations that follow in the slightly more serious (and slightly less entertaining) second half.  The two major issues are Vijaykumar’s opposition to Rajiv Krishna’s love (the usual ego and status problem) and Raghuvaran’s relationship with his mysterious, college friend (Sukanya, in a guest role).  Both issues are handled with a lot of sensitivity, though Sukanya overplays her part.  Raghuvaran is at the top of his game in these scenes.   The way he explains his problem to his brother, and the way he reacts to his sweetheart passing away, show what a fine character actor he is.

 

The movie concludes in a spellbinding climax, enhanced by the performances and the hard-hitting dialogues.  Not a single player takes a false step, the final scene showcasing the abundant-yet-underused talent of Bhanupriya.  The way she conveys sorrow, and then, happiness in a single, crucial shot is fantastic.

 

If Mohan’s excellent dialogue is the foundation, it is the performances that are the pillars holding this movie.  Raghuvaran and Bhanupriya are the best, giving subtle, sensitive performances.  They are so at ease with their characters that in the last scene we’re thinking, “I am so happy for Raji and Raghu!”  Equally good is Delhi Ganesh who, in one of his superlative turns, creates a well-rounded individual.  Vijaykumar overacts a bit in a few scenes but overall does a good job.  Debutant Rajiv Krishna shows a deep understanding of his character and comes up with a fine performance.  It is an unpleasant surprise that his career hasn’t taken off as yet. 

It is to the Director's credit that even actors in small roles catch our attention. Judge Rajagopal as the deaf Thatha (like Shanthi Krishna's father in Manal Kayiru, his condition gives rise to a lot of funny lines and situations), the actress playing his wife, and Krishnan are worth mentioning.

 

Saravanan’s camerawork is very effective in the way it captures key emotions from the faces of the players with close-ups, yet never giving the feeling of a ‘drama.’  Deva’s music is the movie’s only disappointment—none of the tunes are worth listening to with/without the movie but the picturization of the "Yeh hi hai Right Choice Baby" song is cute.  But, hell with the tunes, this movie is a classic.