Attagaasam had 2 things going for it to give Ajith the hope that it would end his long drought of hits. One, it was directed by Saran, who has had a two-for-two record with Ajith so far with hits in Kaadhal Mannan and Amarkkalam. And two, it had a double role for Ajith, something that has proved lucky for him in the past in Vaali and Villain. While Saran's competent handling gives the entertainer a good chance at the box-office, the movie itself is quite weak compared to the two previous Ajith-Saran entries.

Jeeva(Ajith), alongwith his mother(Sujatha), runs a driving school in the city. Jeeva's father had been killed by his own boss Mandhiram(Babu Anthony) and his mother had given away Jeeva's twin brother Guru, who saw the murder, for adoption. Guru(Ajith), now a dada in Thoothukudi, has nothing but hatred for his mother and his brother. And when he gets the chance, he switches places with Jeeva, with the sole intention of destroying their lives.

Saran makes no effort to offer us anything new or fresh in the story. His only aim is disposable entertainment and towards that, he delves deep into the bag of cliches that go with movies with double roles. So we have twins who are separated and then come together to take revenge on the man who killed their father. We also get mistaken identities, switching places and mother sentiments. But Saran, who has always proved adept at fashioning an entertaining screenplay, does the same here. He offers romance, comedy, sentiments and action in good proportions to keep us entertained. There is also an offhand comment by Ramesh Khanna on Kudiyirundha Kovil that indicates that Saran knows exactly what he is doing and doesn't mind making fun of himself.

The story plods along initially as we get introduced to the twins leading completely different lives. Not much goes on during these portions and we simply wait for the inevitable switching of places. Saran doesn't disappoint us and the movie gets more interesting once the twins trade places. Ajith's machinations to destroy his family's fortunes are quite engaging. But the other Ajith's innocence makes his sequences in Thoothukudi both funny and interesting. The way he sneaks out of situations is clever and Ramesh Khanna's comments add to the fun. But the fight sequence where he imagines he is dreaming and then fights with his eyes closed has to figure among the most ridiculous stunt scenes ever filmed!.

In Gemini, Saran gave us a cute romance while the comedy was crude and unfunny for the most part. Oddly, the situation is reversed here. The romance between Ajith and Pooja, which involves mix-ups when they take their dogs to be mated, skirts vulgarity in almost all the scenes. It is never cute and is frequently distasteful. On the other hand, the comedy is very funny in Attagaasam. Ajith's way of 'solving' the problem with Karunas' non-starting auto is hilarious and the laughs peak in the scene where Karunas attempts to apply the same solution to another auto.

Ajith distinguishes well between the two roles with his acting, body language and slang. But his weak voice ensures that the role of the car driving school owner sits on him better. Pooja looks pretty but is expectedly wasted, her role eventually being reduced to coming up with excuses for introducing a duet. This might well be just the second movie, after his debut Nandhaa, where Karunas succeeds in making us laugh and Ramesh Khanna gets equal credit for the comedy with his timely, well-delivered comments. Babu Anthony is quite a weak villain but the fate of Mahadevan is even worse. Nachendru..., the only melodious number, is pleasing to the ear. Praise for Ajith makes sure both Thala Pola Varumaa... and Therkku Cheemaiyile... will be lapped up by his fans. Unakkenna... seems targeted directly at Vijay and is probably the most direct shot yet in the recent trend of incorporating potshots at competitors in a hero's movies.