Aaromaley Movie Review: A neat and unpretentious rom-com

Filmmakers who usually provide a hat tip to another filmmaker subscribe to the ideas of the directors they are inspired by. But Sarang Thiagu's Aaromaley is an evolution from dreamy ideas of life and love flirted with in Gautham Vasudev Menon's films, to the realities of the same. This refreshing take on romance is breezy and neatly packaged.

Aaromaley begins with Ajith (Kishen Das) and his friend Sachin (Harshath Khan) at a church to crash the wedding of the former’s crush. What follows is a madcap sequence, with Ajith and Sachin getting beaten up and imprisoned for causing a nuisance. Silambarasan TR's voiceover attributes Ajith's immature opinion about love to his taste in films (including Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya). What happens to the zany Ajith when he is confronted by love that is totally stripped of his confetti imagination, and how he reacts to it forms the crux of Aaromaley.

Sarang stands out for bringing novelty to the falling-in-love act between the leads. We have seen such romantic films use excessive slow-mos, and moments later they waltz into a song. But this time around, we aren't subjected to something like that. It was fun to see the dreamy romantic in Ajith getting snubbed and his unrealistic ideas of love shattered. Having a matrimonial company as the choice of workplace where the leads meet amplifies the drama and enhances the clash of varied opinions on romance. This choice keeps us guessing about who will have their way and which idea would subsume the other.

Director: Sarang Thiagu

Cast: Kishen Das, Shivathmika Rajasekar, Harshath Khan, VTV Ganesh

The characterisation of Ajith is interesting as his romantic views have a domino effect on every aspect of his life. He looks down on his hard-working father (Raja Rani Pandian), he is not keen on finding a job for himself, and waits for a girl to transform his life with a snap of her finger. None of which happens. Anjali (Shivathmika Rajasekar) doesn't fit into the 'loosu ponnu heroine' stereotype you are tired of watching in Tamil rom-coms. She is not someone who gets subjugated and falls head over heels for a man. Every time it looks like she would grudgingly accept Ajith's ways in getting the job done, she stays a step ahead of him, avoiding the template for good. The role reversal in the lead character stereotypes holds the film together. The beauty in their characterisations lies in how we neither hate Ajith for his shallowness nor lose empathy for Anjali because she is curt. In fact, her being reserved makes you want to know more about her.

Many scenes take place either inside the Lifetime Matrimony (the matchmaking concern) or indoors elsewhere. Though it was good to enrich our knowledge in a niche profession and discover that it isn't as niche as we think, since it too isn't free from 'target achievements,' it felt claustrophobic after a point. So much so that it was relieving to see the scenes shift to the outdoors in the second half. The film, apart from its main plot, also had a couple of subplots with potential, but they lose steam midway. The one involving VTV Ganesh, who plays Narasimhan, and the other involving a couple, should have spurred a change in the lead pair, or at least provided a middle ground to discuss their contrasting beliefs. The two don't remain as they were at the beginning, but their change of heart isn't justified sufficiently. The other couple with family issues overcame those through means that don't hold water. That said, apart from humour, the film has utilised VTV Ganesh to put across an important message, only to make an insensitive joke about the same moments later.

Speaking of humour, Harshath Khan's Sachin is one of the reasons we remain engaged in the narration. His witty one-liners land more often than not. His presence kept the levity coming throughout the runtime. Aaromaley is a welcome shift in this genre, also for its treatment of both the flashback technique and past relationships. There is no toxicity involved and no weaponising of your partner's past to scorekeep. In films like this, we would want to see more of the leads’ parents. Initially, the arguments and misunderstandings in Ajith's home seem plastic. But a stellar Tulasi, who plays Ajith's mother, during an important scene in the second half, makes it all count. In all honesty, we are suckers for some good ol' moments, and Aaromaley does have a fair share of it.

Comparisons with his mentor Gautham might be par for the course, but Sarang does have a long way to go. But to give credit where it's due, Sarang introduces new ideas as improvements to the old ones in a dialectical contest of a film. Aaromaley succeeds in doing away with the dreaminess of love while retaining its cute and sweet parts.