Ajith, Aarya, Nayanthara and Taapsee starrer Arrambham was a huge hit in Tamil and now it has been dubbed in Telugu as Aata Arrambham. Directed by Vishnu Vardhan, the film is a stylish action drama which touches upon themes like terrorism, corruption and revenge. Here’s what the film has to offer to the audience.
Story :Ashok Kumar (Ajith) is a mastermind behind a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai. He doesn’t stop his activities at that and further threatens Arjun (Arya), a hacker, that he’ll kill the latter’s friend Maya (Nayanthara), if he doesn’t agree to his demands.
If that wasn’t enough, Ashok brings in Anita (Taapsee) and tells Arjun that her life is in his hands now. While the police department gets ready to begin the investigation, they are shocked to know that a leading TV channel’s network has been hacked.
Rest of the story is about why Ashok wants to bring down and expose a list of people, whom he seems to have a grudge against.
Vishnu Vardhan, the director of the film, has set up the entire story on a grand scale and it’s evident in terms of how the story unfolds. Ajith’s characterization is more like a vigilante who takes the law in to his own hands to clean the system through his unconventional methods.
On the other hand, the entire film has been shot quite stylishly and the action sequences are a major highlight. Ajith is quite good in his role as a menacing bomb squad expert, who’s also a mastermind behind a small group which shocks the police department and the state home minister, played by Mahesh Manjrekar.
Rana Daggubati, who made a cameo as Ajith’s friend, makes his presence felt and the entire flashback sequence forms the emotional anchor to the film. Although the film is devoid of romance or glamour in a more conventional sense, both Nayanthara and Taapsee have done a fine job.
One of the biggest problems with the film is its predictability since the characterizations of most actors like Mahesh Manjrekar, Atul Kulkarni and Suman Ranganathan are quite stereotyped. We know how the story is going to end and after the flashback is revealed, the rest of the film becomes a futile exercise in cramming as many scenes as possible to keep the mission going.
Arya, who plays a hacker, completely pales in comparison to Ajith and the scenes that showhim as a college student are hardly funny. There’s nothing wrong with his characterization, but he doesn’t suit the part despite his sincere efforts.
Most part of the film feels quite superficial since everything moves at such a break neck speed that it doesn’t give you enough time to understand the motive of the characters.
Om Prakash’s cinematography is superb and it’s one of the best things about the film. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is alright, although the lyrics or the songs don’t quite make a strong impression.
Vishnu Vardhan has based the story’s central theme around the bullet proof vest scam and weaved a stylish action drama around it. While he retains the style which he showcased in his earlier films like Billa and Panjaa, the writing leaves a lot to be desired.
Aata Arrambham banks too much on Ajith’s screen presence and the actor doesn’t disappoint. He may not dance like a dream or look fit, but he makes up for all that with his daredevil stunts and screen presence. The second half in particular drags too much and the climax is quite disappointing. Aata Arrambham is not a bad film at all, but it could have beenso much better and riveting.
