PremiumAyothi Review: Sasikumar's film is an engaging emotional fare despite its clichés and melodrama
Barring a few sequences that seem a bit outdated, R Manthira Moorthy's debut film manages to impress
A poster of Ayothi
Last Updated: 06.30 PM, Apr 07, 2023
Story: A family from Uttar Pradesh meets with an accident enroute Rameshwaran. How their life changes after the untoward incident forms the plot of Ayothi.
Ayothi Review: They say death is a great equalizer. After all, death is inevitable and it is in death that we learn some very profound lessons about life. Ayothi director R Manthira Moorthy dives deep into the very theme and has come with a story that has our heart. Going by the film's title, one might easily mistake it for a film with religious connotations or a subject that might touch upon the political and religious history of Ayodhya, including the communal tension over a land dispute. But Ayothi is far from it. In fact, the story tells us that humanity is much above that - caste, creed, religion, culture and language.
The film begins in Ayodhya in a family headed by the patriarchal, chauvinist and religious Balram (Yashpal Sharma). He treats women as lesser beings and has no qualms about inflicting blows on his wife Janki (Anju Asrani) in front of his children. He despises the fact that his daughter goes to college and seems to have no love for his young son. Even as the family quietly suffers all the abuse, when Balram tells them they are going to Rameshwaram on the day of Diwali, they hope that their life might change after the trip. It changes and how!
When the family is enroute Rameshwaram in a cab, an altercation with the cab driver leads to an accident on the highway, which turns fatal for Janki. The death comes as a huge blow to the children, who have lost the only loving figure among their parents. Help comes in the form of a few local people including Sasikumar's character and his friends. Though Balram doesn't approve of their presence, when Shivani ( Preethi Asrani) appeals to them for help, they lend a helping hand. The film then narrates the ordeal of the day.
The plot of Ayothi is quite simple. It revolves around how the family takes Janki's mortal remains back to their hometown. The director doesn't try to infuse many unnecessary subplots, except the song in the police station that sticks out like a sore thumb. The film also provides a glimpse at the many administrative hurdles one has to face during a festival day like Diwali. The director also throws one roadblock after another for Sasikumar and his friends to solve, thus keeping us gripped to the story until the end.
While Sasikumar doesn't get any mass heroic moments in the film, he plays his role to perfection and we empathise with him when his friend Pugazh drags him from the mortuary. It's refreshing to see Pugazh play a well-meaning supporting character. Vinoth, too, strikes a chord as a good samaritan and a friend in need. While Yashpal Sharma's stone-hearted character might seem like he has gone completely overboard at times, the actor pulls it off convincingly. Preethi Asrani, who plays the college-going Shivani, is apt for the role, who plays the daughter who dotes over her mother and young brother and shines in the scene where she confronts her father.
A special word for the cinematographer Madhesh Manickam, who has captured the colourful Ayodhya and the vibrant Rameshwaran in a picturesque manner. The film's editing is also near-perfect. The best part about the film is that the characters stick to their respective languages even as they converse with each other, thus making the scenes more believable.
With a predictable big reveal at the end, Ayothi might have been a fantastic fare had the director avoided the cliched melodrama. But he quite makes up for it with many heart-warming moments.
Verdict: A heartwarming film that talks about humanity rising above its self-created differences.