In 2018, Vishnu Vishal achieved significant success with “Ratsasan,” a stylish psycho-thriller. With the release of his new film, “Aaryan,” he emphasized that it’s a distinct project, not a “Ratsasan” sequel. Often, new films in the same genre face immense pressure to outdo their predecessors, or hopeful fans wish for them to forge their own successful path.
“Aaryan,” however, needn’t fret about such comparisons; this psycho-thriller proves to be its own “demon” of disappointment. Directed by newcomer Praveen K, the film presents an ambitious premise but is plagued by a criminally underwhelming screenplay, clumsy execution, and tiresome segments that truly test the audience’s patience.
Vishnu Vishal in a still from ‘Aaryan’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The film opens inside a television studio where, after a last-minute cancellation by a politician, a popular TV show hosted by journalist Nayana (Shraddha Srinath, in an unremarkable role) invites a controversial actor instead. In a moment reminiscent of “Joker,” an audience member named Azhagar (played by Selvaraghavan, the film’s only bright spot) seizes control, holding everyone hostage with a smuggled gun.
Azhagar announces his intention to kill six innocent people over the next five days, committing the first murder right there in the studio. This setup — posing questions like his identity, demands, and how authorities will intervene — promises a riveting start, culminating in a shocking twist at the sequence’s end. However, the execution of this opening scene is alarmingly amateurish. Commentary on sensationalist journalism and celebrity culture feels forced and unnatural, while the scene’s staging utterly fails to convey the required urgency.
“Aaryan” is a film that implodes under its own weight. Its entire appeal hinges on a single, supposedly ingenious twist at its core, embedded within an otherwise generic serial killer narrative. This twist, reportedly pondered by a Bollywood superstar for hours, is indeed conceptually ambitious and a difficult challenge for any writer.
Unfortunately, the impact of this central mystery diminishes rapidly as the subsequent plot fails to deliver comparable excitement. DSP Arivudai Nambi (Vishnu Vishal, giving a lackluster performance) leads the investigation, but both the killer’s methods and the police procedural – which form a significant portion of the film – lack any distinctive style or originality.
Like many contemporary Tamil films, “Aaryan” succumbs to the urge to preach social messages, a tactic often used by genre filmmakers to gain minimal audience approval through emotional manipulation. While the film attempts to highlight the struggles of genuinely good people, its approach is clichéd and utterly cringeworthy.
The central plot device, on which the screenplay builds so much and then clumsily drags throughout its runtime, desperately needed a more eccentric approach. This is especially evident in the fleeting moments of dark humor that the film quickly abandons.
Although the film strives for an eerie and immersive atmosphere, numerous perplexing editing flaws and questionable creative choices (including a tokenistic portrayal of a trans character) ultimately diminish audience engagement. Vishnu Vishal’s character, Nambi, suffers from a poorly developed backstory involving his divorce (with Maanasa Choudhary as his ex-wife) and a general lack of depth, leaving him to do little more than furrow his brow and purse his lips throughout the film.
In a moment of unintentional humor, a character tells the killer that something “is worth dying for,” a line that tragically encapsulates the film’s fate. Despite Vishnu Vishal’s significant physical transformation and years of dedication to “Aaryan,” the movie ultimately falls short of being “worth dying for.” It’s definitely no “Ratsasan”—more of a sour note than a sweet success.
‘Aaryan’ is currently playing in theaters.