Review: Airaa – Neither here, nor there

After ‘Maya’, Nayanthara is back with a horror story again. Directed by Sarjun, Airaa features Nayanthara in dual roles. A supernatural thriller, the movie is about a young woman, who has lots of dreams but suffers an unnatural death.

The rest is predictable as her spirit is back to take revenge on those responsible for it. A lot was expected from Sarjun, who made critically-acclaimed short film Lakshmi.

But he has let down the audience with his wayward writing. What promises to be a seat-edge eerie thriller, eventually ends up a cliched ride. The scenes remind of those we have often seen in films made on such genre.

Starring Nayanthara, Kalaiyarasan, Yogi Babu and Jayaprakash among others, the movie begins with two policemen, who visit a bungalow in Pollachi for enquiry, only to return bewildered.

Meanwhile, a flashback reveals that Yamuna (Nayanthara), a journalist, visits her grandparents house in Pollachi. This was the house where the policemen encountered ghosts.

Yamuna along with her cousin Mani (Yogi Babu) comes across eerie moments there. Cut to Chennai, there is Amudhavan (Kalaiyarasan) who happens to witness a series of mysterious deaths. It is revealed that Amudhavan was in love with Bhavani (Nayanthara) and when they were about to get married, she is killed in a mishap.

Things take a turn, when Bhavani’s spirit wants to take revenge on Yamuna. What happens then in Amudhavan and Yamuna’s lives form the rest.

A predictable fare with no spine-chilling moments, Airaa falls flat. Nayanthara as Bhavani is impressive. The actress in her has enough opportunity to showcase her talents. Kalaiyarasan and Yogi Babu give their best.

K S Sundaramurthy’s music adds muscle to the movie. Had Sarjun concentrated more on the effective execution rather than narration, Airaa would have lived up to its title.