Ayan: an utter Thamizh delight.

Sometimes the blessed Kollywood just gets it right. Ayan is all of the following:

1. a really good Surya film, that makes most people wish they woke up as Jothika tomorrow morning

2. a terrifically solid action entertainer

3. probably the BEST film where the main character is actively involved with pirating films

4. a film so good that I could easily encourage you to get the DVD without even thinking about pirating it!


Surya plays Deva, who smuggles whatever Dass (Prabhu Ganesan, pictured here on the left, also known as That Guy From A Lot Of Tamil Films) needs, be it diamonds from Namibia or pre-release pirated DVDs. The plot is fairly standard, but it's the execution that counts here, and the fact it throws a couple of twists on the way you might've seen coming, but enjoy nonetheless.


Chitti (played by Jagan), Deva's partner-in-crime and friend, is not only the brother of the heroine Yamuna (Tamanna) but also pretty integral to the plot and all its happenings, but I won't say more as to not spoil it.


Basically what this provides is simple, good masala, including fights on Namibian rooftops, awesome song picturizations, cutesy romantic comedy and well, Surya looking really good.



And angry and shirtless.


But mostly just really attractive. There's even a special, adorable little shout out to his wife Jothika, which made me all gleeful.


And the songs are all fun and gorgeous!


And there's even some slightly questionable comedy with women sexually harassing Surya!

Actually, speaking of questionable elements, there's a couple. As can be expected, the portrayal of Namibia and its warlords is pretty brutal, and negative. How much of this is based on reality and how much of it is based on prejudice, it's hard to say, not being an expect on the subject. There is a picturization shot in Namibia, where Surya briefly sports a bizarre curly wig that could be considered a little racist..? But with Indian films you've sometimes got to be grateful that things aren't as offensive as they could be: at least there's no blackface here. There's also the slightly odd "hippie" picturization (first picture of this post) but it didn't bother me that much.


On the whole, this is a gorgeous, fun little film. It's maybe coloured a little over the edges, but it's a good film and one I'd definitely recommend.