“Aadhaar” is a story about the officials who are swayed by the power center and the common people who suffer because of it.
Pachimuthu (Karunas) is a construction worker. His wife Tulsi (Rithvika) is admitted to the hospital for delivery and leaves the hospital to collect salary money for expenses. His wife was missing when he came to the hospital after work. The woman he left behind was also murdered. The newborn child is handed over to Karunas. He goes to the police station with the infant to find his wife. Police are investigating. Did they find out what happened to Karunas wife? That is the rest of the story.
The story starts as a typical crime investigation, then slowly begins to show the dark side of the powerhouse. Director Ramnath Palanikumar has tried to display it as naturally as possible. What this movie is talking about is that the rich and the bureaucrats can do whatever they want against the common man.
Karunas, who plays the lead role, has given a natural performance. He gives a perfect performance in some places like approaching the police in fear, wondering what happened to his wife, and struggling with how to take care of the child. Even though there are few scenes, Rithvika makes us pay attention with her natural acting. Arun Pandiyan’s performance could have been more compelling at many points. Iniya, Baahubali Prabhakar, Uma Riaskhan, Thenappan, Dileepan, but none of them gave a noteworthy performance.
Cinematographer Mahesh Muthuswamy has shot most of the night scenes in the film very beautifully. Songs in Srikanth Deva’s music are not very impressive. But he makes the emotional scenes of the film better with the background music.
The concept of the film is very important. But watching the film, one gets the impression that a little more attention could have been paid to the making. The visual settings, the acting of some of the main characters, the screenplay, everything could have been better.
It is not believable that all the major scenes of the film are co-incidents. For example, Karunas randomly knocks on a house door, someone who is already hostile to Karunas comes out, Arun Pandian goes to the hospital, sees a random person there, and what happens to Iniya who opens the door and jumps out.
The guilt of an important character in the film is never conveyed to the audience till the end. So even when the character dies, it doesn’t come as a shock. Had the acting and the writing for those scenes been more compelling, that character would have been the highlight of the film.
Despite the flaws of the film’s modest making, some of the actors’ performances, and superficial writing, there is no denying that this is an important piece of cinema. ‘Aadhaar’ becomes a movie to be appreciated for its uncompromising truth about the kind of society we live in.
– Johnson