Avni Cinemax and Benzz Media (P.) Ltd.’s Aranmanai 4 (dubbed from the Tamil film of the same name; UA) is a horror comedy.
In North East India, a priest (Rupam Barua) and his daughter (Harsha Harish) travel by boat to a temple during an annual festival. When the daughter is injured and her blood spills into the river, it releases Baak, a demon. Baak kills the daughter and assumes her form. The priest then traps Baak’s soul in a vessel, forcing it to take his daughter’s place permanently for the sake of his wife. The scene shifts to a village where Selvi (Tamannaah Bhatia) and her husband, Santhosh (Santhosh Prathap), live with their children, Shakthi (Deva Nandha) and Saravanan Jr. (Sanjay). Selvi’s husband dies of a heart attack in the forest, and Selvi apparently hangs herself in their well. Little Shakthi falls and slips into a coma due to the shock. Upon hearing of the deaths, Selvi’s advocate-brother, Saravanan (Sundar C.), visits the grieving children along with his aunt (Kovai Sarala). In the village, the zamindar’s doctor-granddaughter, Maya (Raashi Khanna), is assigned to care for Shakthi. Soon, they start experiencing paranormal activities in the house. Saravanan is convinced that a sage (Ramachandra Raju) is behind the murders and paranormal activities. He suspects that his sister, Selvi, did not commit suicide. He probes further and visits the police station with Ravi (Fredrick Johnson), the village president’s son. More murders take place. Saravanan finds out similarities between the persons killed and about to be killed. Ultimately, it emerges that Baak is behind the murders and that if one more person is murdered, Baak could become immortal and wreak havoc. Trying to save Shakthi, Saravanan battles Baak inside a large Asura sculpture even as the annual festival is being celebrated with gaiety. What happens finally?
Sundar C. has written a story with a lot of twists and turns, which keep the audience’s interest alive right from the word ‘go’. Sundar C., Venkatt Ragavan and S.B. Ramadass have penned an interesting and engaging screenplay with a lot of family sentiments thrown in. The sequence of Selvi trying to save her kids from her dead husband, before she is killed, is fantastic. Similarly, Selvi’s spirit watching over her two kids is very heartwarming and appeals to the family audience. The second half does get a bit lengthy but since the interest level of the viewers does not diminish, it doesn’t interfere with the audience’s enjoyment of the drama. The climax is outstanding. Dialogues, written by Shiv Gopal Krishna, are appealing.
Sundar C. acts with conviction. He plays Saravanan impressively. Tamannaah Bhatia shines in the role of Selvi. She plays the fiercely protective mother with elan. Raashi Khanna looks beautiful and gives a good account of herself as Dr. Maya. Ramachandra Raju plays the sage effectively. Santhosh Prathap is good in a brief role as Selvi’s husband, Santhosh. Kovai Sarala is excellent as Saravanan’s aunt. Yogi Babu plays to the gallery as the mistri. VTV Ganesh is lovely as the carpenter. Fredrick Johnson has his moments as Ravi. Delhi Ganesh makes his presence felt as the zamindar. Jayaprakash is natural as the village president. Deva Nandha is endearing as Selvi’s daughter, Shakthi. Sanjay is cute as Selvi’s son, Saravanan Jr. Rajendran (as Rathnam), Singampuli (as constable Shakthivel), Lollu Sabha Seshu (as the zamindar’s servant), Vichu Vishwanath (as the money lender), Rupam Barua (as the priest), Harsha Harish (as the priest’s daughter), Namo Narayana (as K. Duraipandi), and Kalyani (as Duraipandi’s daughter) are adequate. K.S. Ravikumar is good in a cameo appearance as DSP Jagadeesan. Khushbu Sundar and Simran spring a wonderful surprise in the climax song-dance.
Sundar C.’s direction is lovely. He has made a complete masala entertainer. Hiphop Tamizha’s music is nice. Lyrics (Naeem Ahmad and Gunwanth Sen) are alright. Song picturisations (by Brindha) are extraordinary. Hiphop Tamizha’s background music is fantastic. E. Krishnasamy’s cinematography is excellent. Gururaj’s art direction is superb. Fenny Oliver’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is proper.
On the whole, Aranmanai 4 is an entertainer all the way. However, lack of promotion of the film among the Hindi film-going audience so much so that the audience are not even aware of the film’s release will adversely affect its box-office performance — that too, hugely.
Released 31-5-’24 at Maratha Mandir (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Karmic Films. Publicity: poor. Opening: weak (in spite of low admission rates due to Cinema Lovers’ Day today). …….Also released all over. Opening was dull everywhere.
