Airaa Review: Weak Writing Spoils The Otherwise Good Horror Flick

Airaa has been one of the most expected movies of the year. Given that the movie has Nayanthara in the lead roles, the movie’s hype factor went through the roof.

And in this movie, for the first time, Nayan has done a dual role. Which again added to the hype factor.

Did Airaa satisfy the expectations of its fans? Read on to find out!

Story

The movie has a storyline that’s needed for a horror movie. In fact the movie is more of an emotional horror.

And it also has a revenge-seeking ghost. An emotional backstory. Jump scares and what not!

However the movie does give you a feeling that everything has been already seen in a dozen of horror movies already.

And the writing really lets the movie down – we will get to that later.

We have Yamuna a journalist who wants to break through and do something great in her career.

On her vacation in grandma’s house she gets an idea to do fake ghost videos, upload them on Youtube and become popular.

Her idea works out. At the same time she also gets to feel some haunted-ness in the premise.

On a parallel story we see Amudhan (Kalaiyarasan) who is confused about the deaths around him.

Meanwhile a ghost attempts to murder Yamuna and she has no clue why.

Both Yamuna and Amudhan try to figure out what’s going on. And that leads to the emotion filled back story in the second half.

We have a climax that could be a let down to most of us.

Acting by cast

Nayanthara really shines with her on screen presence in Airaa. The character Yamuna is something we are used to seeing.

But the character Bhavani is where Nayan has got to experiment her acting skills.

She has appeared in a non-glamourous role as Bhavani, and has made us emphathize with her emotions.

At the end, more than Yamuna, its Bhavani that you remember.

Kalaiyarasan is someone who has delivered a very matured performance in his role in Airaa. He is calm and comfortable as Amudhan and delivers a seasoned performance.

The younger versions of Bhavani and Amudhan are brilliantly performed by Gabrella Sellus and Maathevan (the famous movie reviewer for Galatta) respectively.

Though they have got only very limited screen time, they score with their performances.

Yogi Babu is someone who doesn’t fit in this movie. Unlike the Nayan-Yogi combo in Kolamaavu Kokila, in Airaa this combo falls flat.

Neither his presence nor his one-liners do good for the movie. And as audience we are totally unable to relate to his character.

Technicals

The movie’s biggest strengths are cinematography and music.

We all know that the songs already did get a good reach among the audience pre release.

And on screen, the songs do justice to the movie, adding strength and delivering the emotions.

Not just the songs but also the background score helps the movie in a brilliant manner.

Sundaramurthy definitely needs to be appreciated for that.

Camera work by Sudarshan is awesome in capturing the green out doors, eery indoors and as well as the thrill scenes.

Screenplay

Here’s probably where the movie falls flat. The first half is filled with scenes that are just templates for a horror movie.

As we have seen a lot of “horror” movies, we are really getting used to it.

So a casual black figure running mysteriously in the background, the swing swinging on its own, strange sounds and dark bungalows don’t create chilly horrific moments anymore.

Nevertheless the first half is pretty decent with some horrors and thrills.

The second half is powerful to some extent as long as the emotional connect is concerned.

But the reason for the revenge when revealed might be a big turn off. It dilutes all of the movie.

The butterfly effect is portrayed in a clever manner throughout the movie.

Airaa Final Verdict

Airaa has its strengths. Fantastic acting by Nayanthara and Kalaiyarasan and the supporting actors Gabrella Sellus, Maathevan, the grandma Kulappulli Leela and others (except Yogi Babu who was really off and didn’t fit in).

The movie is technically brilliant.

However due to weak writing, the movie feels so diluted and doesn’t let us take it seriously.

If you are a die hard fan of Nayanthara, and/or if you are someone who can enjoy a horror flick without any expectations go for it!