Aambala

3/13/2015

Director Sundar C is an old hand at recycling past films and presenting them as new by adding spoonfuls of comedy but the formula deserts him in Aambala, a masala movie that is a trip through time, and not in a good way. The film is filled with tropes that would have been acceptable in the 90s. We have families that are separated because of an incident in the past, lost-and-found moments, henpecked husbands, botched up kidnapping plans, outdated athai ponnu romance, and so on. The multi-star cast, the wily hero, the over-the-top action scenes, the speed breaker songs (which, while foot-tapping, seem to belong to another film) and the noisy background score make us wonder if we have stepped into a Hari film, though this one clearly lacks the manufactured pace of that director's films. It is