Coming Soon - Ayan

Tamil cinema has recently seen smaller films like Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu succeed and highly-hyped films from big stars fall like nine pins. But the expectation that accompanies a film by a big star will never vanish(which is probably why they became stars in the first place!). When such a film also has a promising director, an up and coming heroine, great music and a reputed production company behind it, the expectations turn much higher. That's the enviable position that Ayan, which is releasing this Friday, is in.

Ayan is Surya's next release after the successful Vaaranam Aayiram. Every new release of the actor once again reminds me of his incredible transformation into a star. The nondescript, plain actor who we saw in movies like Nerukku Ner and Poovellaam Kaettuppaar is definitely a bona fide star now and he has worked hard for it. With his strong acting talent, good looks and much-improved dancing and stunt skills, he has turned into a well-rounded actor who can handle romance, drama, comedy and action with equal ease. From the looks of the trailer and the buzz about the movie, it looks like Ayan will give him the opportunity to once again demonstrate his proficiency in atleast three of those fields and please his fans. He is paired here with Tamanna has so far appeared only in a few movies. But her list of projects tells us that we will be seeing a lot more of her soon. Her last two movies, Kalloori and Padikkaadhavan belonged to vastly different genres and showed us that she could carry off both a strong, author-backed role and a masala film heroine role equally well. Going by the importance awarded to the heroine in K.V.Anand's previous movie, she will probably have a bit of both in Ayan. The film also features Prabhu and Akashdeep Saigal, who is apparently a very popular television actor in North India.

Ayan's director K.V. Anand is only one film old as director but was really well-known as a cinematogapher before that. Apart from winning the National award for his very first film Thenmaavin Kombathu(the Malayalam original of Muthu), he has wielded the camera for many high-profile movies like Kaadhal Desam, Mudhalvan and Chellamae. He turned director with Kanaa Kanden, a nice romantic thriller. With a clever concept, a charming lead couple whom we could root for, a really detestable villain and several effective suspenseful moments, it was an intelligent, entertaining movie. After once again taking up cinematography duties for Sivaji, he now back as director with Ayan. He has said that the film touches upon a theme never before seen in Indian cinema and considering his work in Kanaa Kanden, we can treat his words as more than just the hyperbole every director indulges in before his film's release. He has assembled a top-notch team to assist him. Harris Jayaraj has come up with his usual collection of faintly familiar but undeniably catchy tunes and the action has been choreographed by a team that has worked on Hollywood films.

It is quite rare for a movie to be looked forward to by almost everyone. With an almost universally-liked hero, a familiar but fresh heroine, a cinematographer-turned-director with a good track record and a hit soundtrack, Ayan belongs to that small group. Lets hope that it meets all those expectations and turns into a blockbuster.