Ayothi Movie Review

With all the rape cases going on, I desperately needed a coping mechanism, an escape from the brutal reality. So, I watched *Ayothi* again and then sat down to review the movie. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.

   

All the characters are well-defined from the start, setting the stage for what’s coming. We have the feared paternal figure, the meek wife, and the loving mother of two beautiful children who are all too aware of their father’s dominant, abusive, and recalcitrant ways – and his strict adherence to the Hindu faith.

Shivani (Preethi Asrani) stole hearts with her realistic acting. The likes of Hansika Motwani are sorely defeated by Preethi’s prowess. How phenomenal is her performance – she draws us in with her every emotion – and does so flawlessly.

 

This is one of the rare times I am appreciating a fair-skinned, non-Tamil actress in a Tamil movie. The story revolves around a North Indian family from Ayodhya visiting Rameshwaram in Tamilnadu, where the mother dies in an accident. Preethi is the perfect choice for the role of a daughter and sister desperate to get her deceased mom back home.

The casting for the role was done not to fulfill some white skin fetish/preference in Asian society, but because Preethi does justice to the role – she proved that talent surpasses skin color. I mean, Manisha Koirala and Sonakshi Sinha were so out of place when they played village girls in rural Tamilnadu. Elsewhere, they take a fair-skinned actress and slap dark makeup on them for village folk roles. We can have a diverse skin tone palette on Indian female actors as Indians and cast them according to a certain role’s requirement, instead of only having fair-skinned actresses from North India and Kerala to play any Tamil girl role.

This guy’s success lies in the way we hate him. He plays the typical religious patriarch we all know and despise. His impractical religious beliefs and his unmoved attitude, chewing tobacco minutes after the woman he married is pronounced dead, make it easy for us to wonder about the men in our society.

 Learning that this movie is based on true events is like cold cream applied on a blister. As usual, Sasikumar aced yet another “good, helpful man” character. It gives me respite and assurance that I might run into men like this real-life character and be not only unharmed but also helped.

The cute, real-life elderly couple’s cameo was a pleasant surprise and a well-thought-out scene, bringing real-life people into a movie and leaving an impression.

Pugazh was always protecting the little boy and brought comedic relief.

 

And then, a much-needed climax…The name reveal in the end was even better than Simbu’s name reveal in Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada – Rajinikanth. The scene is awash with humanity surpassing religion. The satisfaction and tears Ayothi brought me were immense and deeply felt.

I’m rooting for more stories like these – may the tribe of that unknown man who helped an unknown family get back home grow and kill the monsters disguised as humans lurking around us, ready to pounce when the opportunity arises.