Aarohanam (2012 Film)
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() is a 2012 Tamil-language drama film directed by actress-turned-director
Lakshmy Ramakrishnan Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is an Indian actress and director. She made her debut in the Malayalam film '' Chakkara Muthu'' (2006), and has since appeared primarily in supporting roles in Tamil films. Personal life Lakshmy was born and raised in a ...
. It stars Viji Chandrasekhar, G. Marimuthu,
Uma Uma may refer to: Religion * Uma (goddess), a Hindu goddess also known as Parvati or Gauri People * Uma (given name), including a list of people with the name * Uma (actress) (Uma Shankari, fl from 2000), Indian actress Nature * ''Uma'' (liza ...
, Rajie Vijay Sarathy, Jayaprakash, and
Sampath Raj Sampath Raj (born 25 December 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to Kannada and Malayalam films. He is best known for his appearances in director Venkat Prabhu's trilogy, which includ ...
. According to the director, the film revolves around a missing mother, who suffers from
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
. The film received mostly positive reviews, with some critics calling it the best Tamil film of the year.


Cast

*
Viji Chandrasekhar Viji Chandrasekhar is an Indian actress who works in Tamil and Telugu films, and television shows. She played the female lead role in '' Arohanam'' which had won several awards. She played the main lead in '' Azhagi'', a television serial. Ca ...
as Nirmala * G. Marimuthu as Vallimuthu *
Uma Uma may refer to: Religion * Uma (goddess), a Hindu goddess also known as Parvati or Gauri People * Uma (given name), including a list of people with the name * Uma (actress) (Uma Shankari, fl from 2000), Indian actress Nature * ''Uma'' (liza ...
as Jay * Rajie Vijay Sarathy as Sandy * Jayaprakash as MLA *
Sampath Raj Sampath Raj (born 25 December 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to Kannada and Malayalam films. He is best known for his appearances in director Venkat Prabhu's trilogy, which includ ...
as Dr. Balakrishnan *
Kavithalaya Krishnan T. Krishnan, popularly known as Kavithalayaa Krishnan, is an Indian actor known for playing supporting roles in Tamil film and television. He is a regular artist in many K. Balachander's films and television serials produced by Kavithalayaa Pro ...
as MLA's assistant *
Abhinay Abhinay Kinger is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam language films. He made his debut in the 2002 film, ''Thulluvadho Ilamai'' directed by Kasthuri Raja. He also appeared in advertisement of Oreo, Oreo Bis ...
as Karthik * Veeresh as Senthil * Jai Quehaeni as Selvi * Harini as Young Selvi * Gauthami as Young Selvi * Adarsh as Young Senthil * Ibrahim as Young Senthil *
Vellai Subbaiah Vellai Subbaiah was an Indian actor who appeared in over than 1500 films and theatrical productions. He primarily played minor roles and comedic roles. Early life Subbaiah was born in Punjai Puliampatti village, Coimbatore in 1937 but ran a ...
as Bhai * Premi as Bhai's wife * Laju Nanwani as Pia *
Rethika Srinivas Rethika Srinivas is an Indian actress who appears in Tamil films. Career Rethika graduated with a degree in electronic engineering from SRM University, before pursuing a master's degree in media studies in the United Kingdom. She subsequently ...
*
Lakshmy Ramakrishnan Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is an Indian actress and director. She made her debut in the Malayalam film '' Chakkara Muthu'' (2006), and has since appeared primarily in supporting roles in Tamil films. Personal life Lakshmy was born and raised in a ...
in a cameo appearance


Production

In early February 2012, reports claimed that character actress
Lakshmy Ramakrishnan Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is an Indian actress and director. She made her debut in the Malayalam film '' Chakkara Muthu'' (2006), and has since appeared primarily in supporting roles in Tamil films. Personal life Lakshmy was born and raised in a ...
would direct her maiden feature film, although Lakshmy had begun filming in December 2011 already. Titled as , it was said to be based on a "series of amusing events that take place on a single day"; the film would follow a 17-year-old boy and his sister who are in search of their missing mother, played by television artiste and actress
Saritha Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 150 films and provided voice for many actress for more than 200 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses ...
's sister, Viji Chandrasekhar. Lakshmy along with her friends, actresses
Uma Padmanabhan Uma Padmanabhan is an Indian actress and television presenter who works in Tamil-language films and television serials. Career Uma Padmanabhan had her early education in Chennai and graduated in commerce Commerce is the organized Complex sy ...
and Rajie Vijay Sarathy, initially wanted to make a "
desi Desi ( or or ; Hindustani language, Hindustani: देसी , , ) also Deshi, is a loose term used to describe the ethnic groups in South Asia, peoples, culture of South Asia, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their Sout ...
''
Hangover A hangover is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects usually following the consumption of alcohol (beverage), alcohol, such as wine, beer, and liquor. Hangovers can last for several hours or for more than ...
'' kind of a film" about spirited women. When developing the third character in the film, she realized that she had penned a story about that person in 2008 already. She reworked the script and made that character the lead, while also deciding to co-produce the film. Lakshmy said that she had written 45 versions of the screenplay for . She further stated that the film was initially started with the intention to screen it at film festivals only, but that eventually it turned into a "commercial" film. Character actors Jayaprakash does a cameo and
Sampath Raj Sampath Raj (born 25 December 1968) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to Kannada and Malayalam films. He is best known for his appearances in director Venkat Prabhu's trilogy, which includ ...
and director G. Marimuthu were selected to essay pivotal supporting roles, while newcomers Veeresh and Jai Quehaeni would play the missing mother's son and daughter, respectively. Veeresh was then studying editing in his final year at the MGR Film Institute, Taramani and got the opportunity when he approached director Lakshmy to join her as an assistant director. The entire film was shot with a
Canon EOS 5D The Canon EOS 5D is a 12.7 megapixel digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera body produced by Canon. The EOS 5D was announced by Canon on 22 August 2005, and at the time was priced above the EOS 20D but below the EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds ...
digital camera; it was completed in 20 days.


Music

K, who had previously worked on
Mysskin Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin (), is an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, actor, film producer and composer. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with '' Chithiram Pesuthadi''. His subsequent fil ...
's ''
Yuddham Sei ''Yuddham Sei'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir mystery thriller film written and directed by Mysskin. It stars Cheran and debutant Dipa Shah alongside an ensemble cast including Y. G. Mahendra, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, Jayaprakash ...
'', in which Lakshmy Ramakrishnan played a notable supporting role, was signed on to produce the film's score and soundtrack. The soundtrack album of consists of six tracks, with three of them being
instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
s. The lyrics were penned by newcomer Subbu. The song "Indha Vaan Veli" was released as a
single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
to coincide with Mother's day 2012. The entire album was launched on 19 June 2012 at
Prasad Studios Prasad Studios and Prasad Film Labs are motion picture post-production studios headquartered in Chennai, India, founded by Prasad Group in 1956. The production house has produced over 150 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi ...
in Chennai; directors K. Balachander and K. S. Sethumadhavan released the audio. "Thappattam", a club number, was sung by Lakshmy's daughter Sharadha along with the composer.


Release

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV.


Critical reception

opened to mostly positive reviews from critics. Vivek Ramz from " in.com" gave the film 4.5 out of 5 and said that it's a must watch experience and added that It's a unique masterpiece of cinema and one couldn't afford to miss this film at any cost! N. Venkateswaran from ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and claimed that it "could easily be the best Tamil film of the year" and that "it tackles a very important issue — mental illness — with a sensitivity that is rare to Tamil cinema, and does so without being judgmental about the main characters and their actions". The reviewer further mentioned that "a lot of recent films have had incorrect portrayals of mental illness and bipolar disorder, and helps in dispelling the darkness among the audiences", terming it a "must see for all lovers of good cinema".
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
's critic wrote that "director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan can be proud of her maiden venture which slowly but beautifully unfolds and reaches its crescendo in the climax", further praising her for "making such a film with a neat message and at the same time not preachy".
Rediff Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
gave 3 out of 5 stars and noted that Lakshmy Ramakrishnan "may have made her film more like a fictionalised documentary, and stumbled at a few places, but by and large, the message she delivers is a valid one". Haricharan Pudipeddi from nowrunning.com cited: "If you miss , then you may have missed most likely the best Tamil film of the year". Indiaglitz.com claimed that a film "with such a knot needs to be welcomed for it marks a shift from the regular mainstream cinema". Baradwaj Rangan, too, lauded the film: "After a movie-going season filled with crushing big-budget disappointments, it's wonderful to watch . The director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has a bracingly uncomplicated approach to filmmaking, where it's all about writing a solid script and etching out memorable characters and, finally, casting the right people". On the contrary, Malini Malnath from ''
The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...
'' panned the film, calling "at the most, a stepping stone for the filmmaker. It may serve as a valuable experience gained and a reference for how she could craft a more coherent screenplay, bringing in more clarity and focus on her narration". The critic further wrote: "The director should have done her homework before taking up such a serious issue as a concept. Both the script and treatment are amateurish". Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, in return, clarified that "enough research had been done before locking the characterisation" and that several doctors the film was shown to were "delighted with the way the disorder is portrayed".


Awards


References


External links

* {{Lakshmy Ramakrishnan 2012 films Films about bipolar disorder 2010s Tamil-language films 2010s Indian films Films scored by K (composer) Indian drama films 2012 directorial debut films Films directed by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan Tamil-language Indian films