After acting in TV serials and films, Kaushik dons the hat of a writer-director for Adiyum Andamum, a psychological thriller. Producing and essaying the lead role is Ajaay, a popular TV actor who has a couple of Hindi and Tamil films to his credit. The plot of the movie is set in the lush cool ambience of a hill station that contrasts well with the mysterious goings on in a mental health centre located there. A psycho-horror thriller is a difficult one to recreate on screen. But for a debutant, Kaushik has managed to do it fairly skilfully.
It opens with Karan (Ajaay), a psychiatrist, on his first day at the Institution. The seasoned actor goes through the nuances of his role with conviction and sincerity. Film makers are bound to take a second look at him. The supporting cast has played its part suitably, while the two female leads are aptly cast. Anbarasu, the soft spoken Dean of the Centre, welcomes Karan warmly. But soon Karan realises that all has not been well with the place and senses a conspiracy to hide secrets from him. Shuttling between reality and disturbing visions, he takes the help of Shalini, a TV reporter who is there on a job assignment. The shocking truth is revealed and most pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
The writer-director takes inspiration for his plot from Shutter Island, the Scorsese-Di Caprio flick (adapted from Dennis Lehane’s novel). While the basic premise remains the same, he has brought in a lot of changes and simplified the complicated scenario to suit local audiences. He has managed to create a mysterious, creepy ambience for the goings on and kept his narration dark and suspense-filled. The film does have it’s glitches, flaws and loose ends. The scenes of the flashback could have been worked out better. The ending, different from the original, is a well crafted one. A promising work from a debutante, it’s a fairly watchable fare for lovers of the horror-genre.
Film- Adiyum Andamum (Tamil)
Director- Kaushik
Cast- Ajaay, Mitali Agarwal, Kavita Srinivasan, Ramanathan