Amaran review: Gripping tragic tale of a martyr; slows down in second-half
While the first half of the film didn't face any hiccups, the second half suffers from being predictable for it reaches a stage when we know what is going to unfold next
Sivakarthikeyan, the actor, known for his impeccable comic histrionics and playing to-the-gallery moments in his films, has been experimenting a lot in his recent movies like 'Maaveeran' and 'Ayalaan'.
Now, in his latest film 'Amaran' too, the actor takes on another kind of role to essay real-life martyr Major Mukund Varadharajan, who was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award.
Sivakarthikeyan convincingly plays the role of the martyr. It is a sincere performance. One can witness the hard work he has put into making himself physically fit, and he carries off the role with great confidence. Generally, films that speak about the valour of army bravehearts do not give much importance to the sacrifices of their loved ones. The women in their lives, for example, will hardly get any screen time.
In 'Amaran', director Rajkumar Periyasamy has beautifully captured the key role of Indhu Reba Vargheese, the wife of Major Mukund Varadharajan through Sai Pallavi's earnest performance.
Big moments
In the first half of the film, we get to see the innocent unconditional love of Sai Pallavi. There is a thin line between being innocent and being downright ignorant. Often, Tamil filmmakers try to take more cinematic liberties in portraying the innocence of the heroines that we end up getting female leads who appear to be childish. Thankfully, in 'Amaran', Sai Pallavi looks classy, and manages to pull of her innocence and her unconditional love for Sivakarthikeyan's character.
'Amaran's big moments do not lie in the edge-of-the-seat missions undertaken by Sivakarthikeyan as he rescues innocent lives in Kashmir. But it is in his heartwarming scenes with Sai Pallavi, their humble family, and their child. To be honest, the rescue missions are predictable as we have seen many such sequences in the past.
But it is the romance and emotionally moving moments with the family, the meticulous writing, and the solid performances of the lead actors, such as Sivakarthikeyan, Sai Pallavi, and Geetha Kailasam, that make us root for them and their families.
There is a scene in which Sivakarthikeyan tells Sai Pallavi she should be brave and not shed tears. When Sai learns that her husband is dead, true to her word, she controls her tears and tries to be brave in the situation. Sai Pallavi's acting in this scene speaks volumes about her acting prowess.
Rajkumar Periyasamy has done his research well so that we could get to know the lives of the army men, and how they tackle terrorists and he has also carefully written scenes that give us an insight into the lives of the terrorists, their psyche etc.
Predictable second half
While the first half of the film didn't face any hiccups, the second half suffers from being predictable for it reaches a stage when we know what is going to unfold next! But the emotional ending and the heart-touching performances save the film.
Technically, GV Prakash's score is soothing to our ears in romantic portions and pulsating in the scenes to elevate the valour of the lead character. The runtime could've been shorter by at least ten to fifteen minutes.
CH Sai's solid camera work virtually takes us to the battlefield and he has also aesthetically captured the magical moments between the lead pair.
To wrap it up, 'Amaran' has a solid first half followed by a watchable second half. Despite the shortcomings in the second half, the entire crew deserves praise for effectively capturing the pain, sacrifice, and valour of Mukund Varadharajan on the big screen.