AAROHANAM – REVIEW
First time director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan can be proud of her maiden venture Aarohanam which slowly but beautifully unfolds and reaches its crescendo in the climax.
The film features a strong, spirited woman Nirmala and tackles domestic issues with sensitivity. In an author backed role, Viji Chandrasekhar (actress Sarita’s younger sister and a look alike) steals the show as she is the pivot around which the film revolves.
The way Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has tackled the issue of loneliness leading to mental depression among women without being loud and sentimental is what makes the film stand out. Remember a lot of recent movies have portrayed mental illness and bipolar disorder in a crude playing to the gallery manner.
The story is straightforward and to the point. There is a ‘Aarohanam’ , a crescendo in the central character Nirmala’s life. Nirmala (Viji Chandrasekhar) is a lower middle class vegetable vendor in Mylapore. She suffers from bipolar disorder from childhood and is on the breaking point after her husband (Marimuthu) left her for another woman.
One day her school going son Senthil (Veeresh) and her daughter Selvi (Jai Quehini) whose marriage is a few days away find her missing! The 17-year-old Senthil and his sister's search for their missing mother forms the rest of the story.
Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has based the film on a series of events that take place on a single day. It is narrated crisply in 90 minutes keeping Nirmala as the central character around which the story and situations revolve.
The director has been able to bring in the supporting characters like estranged husband, two rich society ladies (Uma Padmanabhan and Rajee Vijaysarathy), a drunken MLA (Jayaprakash) and his PA (Kavithalaya Krishnan) and a fun loving psychiatrist (Sampath) and wove the story around them.
Hats off to Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, for making such a film with a neat message and at the same time not preachy. The power of the film is her simple writing and perfect casting. Add to that K’s music especially club song Thappaattam... which is peppy and well picturised along with a moving background score.
