Aramm is a slap on the face to everyone who says India is marching towards superpower. How can that be a reality, when we’re still a nation where there are delays in the rescue of a young girl who has accidentally fallen into a deep, long-winding well that is open in the first place due to the negligence of a local councillor?
The first few sequences are perfunctory – it shows how a rocket launch is set to happen and everyone is in a celebratory mood, even as a village nearby is reeling under water crisis.
The visuals here are exquisite (watch out for a shot that shows the shadow of people walking alongside a water body) but director Gopi Nainar wastes no time in the aesthetics – he’s here to make a strong point.
The entire absorbing first half leads to that one powerful sequence, lasting the entire length of the film, that pretty much tells the tale of India itself – powerful politicians, policemen and doctors on one side, and a family who’s struggling to cope with the unfortunate circumstances after their young daughter, Dhansika, falls into the well.
In the middle of all this is Collector Madhivadhani (Nayanthara), a straight-forward IAS official who describes herself as a ‘democrat’. She’s that official we do not get to read about much in the papers or watch on TV – honest, firm and above petty politics. “I don’t know power politics,” she admits.
- Director: Gopi Nainar
- Cast: Nayanthara, Ramesh, Vignesh
- Storyline: A Collector has to oversee the rescue mission of a young kid stuck in a deep well
That clearly means that she’ll face a lot of hurdles in the rescue mission; there’s a cunning politician and a village full of suspecting people who doubt the point of the operation. But Nayanthara is not the focus of the film – and rightly so. The focus is on her anguish. And the helplessness that she has to go through, despite being a Collector, in sorting out a trying situation.
The second half has its issues: a TV anchor dissects the situation even as we await with bated breath the plight of the girl. A few scenes take time to breathe and are rather preachy. Look beyond those, and you’ll realise that the director’s focus is razor-sharp. That he’s cast ‘Lady Superstar’ Nayanthara to lead this film, instead of a top commercial hero is refreshing. It’s a job done well.
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