Aranmanai 4 (2024)
| Movie | : | Aranmanai 4 |
| Director | : | Sundar. C |
| Starring | : | Sundar. C, Tamannaah Bhatia, Raashii Khanna, Kovai Sarala, Vennela Kishore, Sreenivas Reddy |
| Genres | : | Drama, Horror, Thriller |
| Editor | : | Fenny Olive |
| Rating | : | 8.4/10 |
| Release Date | : | 3 May 2024 |
Synopsis
"Aranmanai 4" tells the story of Saravanan, an honest lawyer whose life takes a dark turn when he learns that his sister, Shivani, committed suicide, and his brother-in-law dies in a mysterious way in a forest. What is the hidden truth of the forest, and was her death a suicide or murder?
Aranmanai 4 2024 Tamil Movie : Critique
Plus Points (+)
Sundar. C is mainly popular for horror movies; you can't see him in any random comedy or drama movie. He chooses movies according to his personality. After the success of the "Aranmanai" franchise, he now comes with "Aranmanai 4," starring Tamanna Bhatia, Raashii Khanna, and Santhosh Prathap in lead roles.
The first half is decent but confusing for most audiences. It is a strategy of the director to create curiosity in the audience's mind, where the technical team has taken extreme care regarding the visuals and production values. All the dots are nicely connected in the second half, where Hip Hop Tamizha's scary background music plays an important role.
Director Sundar. C's strength lies in horror movies, which is why, due to high demand from Hindi audiences, "Aranmanai" was dubbed in Hindi and launched with the name "Raj Mahal," which later became popular among Hindi audiences.
Sundar C is a master in Tamil cinema. He understands the audience's taste, so he comes up with a unique story and solid background music. To add a touch of comedy, he casts Yogi Babu, Motta Rajendran, and Santhanam. On the other side, Santhosh Prathap, Raashii Khanna, and Tamannaah Bhatia succeed in creating suspense before the interval.
The movie's success or failure depends on the film's cast and story. To attract a broader audience, Director Sundar C casts all popular actors in the Tamil industry and chooses a unique and unpredictable story. So, no one can guess what will happen next.
The best thing about "Aranmanai 4" is that you can see the top four comedians of the Tamil film industry working together in one movie, which is awesome and wonderful for audiences looking for a comedy movie. Nowadays, comedy is a necessity in every movie. Without it, a movie feels like a brand new Ferrari without an engine.
Yogi Babu, Kovai Sarala, and Santhanam Paalswamy lead the first half with their unique and natural comedy dialogues. Meanwhile, Motta Rajendran appears limited times on screen.
After the success of the "Kanchana" horror-comedy movie, Kovai Sarala appears in "Aranmanai 4" in a supporting role along with Santhanam Paalswamy, spreading her comedy magic everywhere. On the other side, Santhanam Paalswamy's performance is decent.
Music is the most important part of the movie, where Hip Hop Tamizha's music score is satisfying, but his scary background music adds a taste of horror and fear.
Sundar C, who is the lead actor and plays the role of Shiva Shankar, delivers a wonderful performance as a lawyer. Since he is also the director of this movie, he already knows what the audience wants from him.
In the first half, his performance is decent, revolving around family drama, like Tamannaah, who plays the role of Saravanan's sister, marrying against her family's wishes, along with some comedy and action scenes. But the climax comes in the second half when he learns that his sister did not commit suicide; it was murder. His solid dialogues grab the audience's attention towards him.
Some people think that Sundar C is an old-school hero, but that is not true. In the Tamil industry, he is the only actor and director who delves into horror movies. After consecutive successes in the "Aranmanai" franchise, he has become the most popular director in recent times.
After delivering a solid dance performance in the song "Kaavaalaa" from the movie "Jailer," Tamannaah Bhatia now appears in "Aranmanai 4" as the lead cast, playing the role of Shivani, Saravanan's sister. It is the first time we see her in an evil soul role, showcasing a mother intent on protecting her children at any cost, and on the other side, she plays a fearsome spirit looking to destroy anybody causing them harm.
Raashi Khanna, as Dr. Maaya, has a very limited role. She doesn’t have much to do, but still, her performance is wonderful. After a long time, she appears on the silver screen.
Kovai Sarala, Yogi Babu, VTV Ganesh, Rajendran, Delhi Ganesh, and other supporting cast members did what was needed.
Minus points (-)
The main issue with "Aranmanai 4" is the unwanted comedy tracks. Tamannaah Bhatia, who is a very talented actress in Tamil, Telugu, and Bollywood, delivers a slightly disappointing performance in the second half in terms of her evil soul role. Raashi Khanna, who plays Dr. Maaya, does not add any value to the film.
Yogi Babu and Motta Rajendran are very popular comedians in Tamil and Telugu film industries, but their second-half performances do not work as intended. However, they attract the majority of the audience towards theaters through their comedy dialogues.
Just like the other films in the "Aranmanai" franchise, "Aranmanai 4" offers nothing unique. The plot is very similar to previous films. On the other side, Fenny Oliver's editing in the second half is disappointing in terms of Tamannaah's role.
Technical Aspects
Director Sundar C has once again picked a routine story. While I appreciate the horror element in the film, the director tries to do something new with the story script by casting Raashi Khanna in a lead role. However, due to her limited role, she doesn't have much to do.
Casting popular comedians in the film is a very smart decision, but due to poor writing, the comedy portions become irritating for the majority of the audience.
On the technical side, the background score by Hip Hop Tamizha is decent, cinematography by E. Krishnasamy, and grand production values are the biggest assets of the film. However, Fenny Olive's editing could have been better.
Conclusion
Overall, "Aranmanai 4" is a comedy-horror movie. The first half is a mixture of family drama, comedy, and some action scenes, while the second half is more interesting. Horror and suspense lead the show.
Performance : 3.7/5
Dialogues : 3.1/5
Comedy : 3.7/5
Story : 4.0/5
