ASAL MOVIE REVIEW

Starring: : Ajith, Sameera Reddy, Bhavana.

Direction: Saran

Music: Bharadwaj

Production: Sivaji Productions

The Ajith-Saran combination is at it again.Asal is in theaters and

it is celebration time for all Ajith fans.The stakes are bigger this t

ime with Asal being Ajith’s 49th film and it is also special becaus

e the titles of the film name Ajith as co-director of the movie.He

is also credited for the story, screenplay and dialogues along wi

th Saran and Yuhi Sethu. So, has the additional responsibility and

control for Ajith worked well for Asal.

Asal is a story of feud between three brothers over property; two

brothers (Sampath Kumar and Rajeev Krishna) on one side with

their avarice for all the wealth with the righteous third trying to sto

p the family from breaking down. No marks for guessing who is

the righteous one, who else but Ajith Kumar?! The feud that exis

ts as an undercurrent in the presence of their father (Ajith again)

turns ugly and personal after he passes away. It grows bigger wi

th the two brothers joining in to elbow out Ajith.He graciously st

eps aside, only wanting to keep cordial relations.
But, the two brothers are just not able to handle the huge wealth

and the responsibility that it brings. Their wealth attracts trouble

and it is up to Ajith to come back and save his brothers. Do thin

gs end there or does the feud continue, does wealth disintegrate

the family and how does Ajith conquer all the odds? Watch Asal

to find out.

The first and most important thing about Asal is that it is an out

and out Ajith movie. Not that anyone needs to be told this, it is

an obvious fact. But, Asal is a full length celebration of Ajith’s

persona, something his fans will absolutely adore. But, the film

does have its weak points too. It is indeed sad that such a

potential team ended up shooting a rather weak script. The main

defect here is the characters sketch of the villains. They just don’t

seem menacing or threatening enough to stand up to Ajith. It robs

the excitement out of the confrontations making it look like cakew

alks for Ajith. The only strong negative character (Kelly Dorji) is

finished off prematurely which also stunts the growth of Ajith’s

character. It is also pretty dampening that the much expected Ajith

double act is only there for the first few minutes in the film. It should

also be said that the opening sequences of the film do leave you a bit

disappointed; the intros just don’t pack a punch. But, on the brighter

side, the script does manage to throw a few surprises when you least

expect them,like the one at the interval point. Saran has been successful

 in keeping the viewer guessing about certain things right until the end.

The climax portions however should have been better. The finish looks

literally forced into the script, with a fight inside a warehouse. There is

not much room for romance. But, whatever little is there looks good.

The silent tussle between Sameera and Bhavana over who gets Ajith

is cute and Saran could have extended it a bit. One thing about the

movie that could have been much better is the placement of songs;

most of them look like appendages hanging loosely out of the main

narrative.

As said above, this movie is all about Ajith and his persona. It would

not be wrong to say that at many points it seems as if Ajith, the star,

has been given more importance than the script itself. Trust Ajith to

carry off a larger than life role with ease. He strides the screen with

ease, having a presence that few others can boast of. He looks stylish

in every frame; the hairstyle, the sideburns and the cigar sit well on him.

In fact, Ajith’s presence is one of the main factors that stops one from

getting bored. Sampath, Rajeev Krishna and Pradeep Rawat do their

jobs as villains without too great an impact. As said above, their characters

look like weak adversaries for Ajith. Sameera Reddy has a role of

consequence in the movie and does pretty well, but there is no huge

scope for performance. Bhavana looks cute in a role that demands

only as much. She however impresses with her dance moves in the

first part of the Dushyantha song. Yuhi Sethu tries hard to provide

a few comic moments, succeeding partially on the rare occasion;

his side kicks trying hard with a few gimmicks as well. Prabhu is a

dignified presence.

The fact that this is a film made under Sivaji Productions can be

sensed in the way the film has shaped up. The producer has left

no stone unturned to make the film look rich, slick and sophisticated

throughout. Be it the sets, the interiors, the locations or costumes, no

expense has been spared. The story is set mainly in France, with a

portion happening in Mumbai. The richness of the streets France has

been transferred beautifully onto screen by Prashanth’s camera. The

camerawork keeps the viewer visually pleased, partially compensating

for flaws in the script. Action should have been better. Only the fight

between Ajith and Kelly close to the interval stirs up excitement, it is

plain on all other occasions. Music by Bharadwaj does not lend any

strength to the movie, except Dushyantha and the BGM looks pretty

unimaginative. Dialogues focus mostly on the word ‘Thala’ and the

different ways in which it can be used. Imaginative for sure, but it

could have been toned down a bit. Nevertheless, it does provide

fans with an opportunity to cheer loudly.