Aranmanai 3

With the Aranmanai franchise, Sundar C seems to have built a safe zone for himself. These films are turning out to be a refuge for the director, projects that he can take up whenever his other films don't do well, and help him get his box-office mojo back. After the first Aranmanai, he had the much-trolled Aambala. And he did Aranmanai 2 right after it. Now, Aranmanai 3 comes right after the debacles that were Vandha Rajavathaan Varuven and Action. Given that these movies are more or less critic-proof - they are just about scary-enough and funny for kids, and offer momentary diversion for the adults, so what's there to complain? - Sundar C's decision only seems smart.

This latest installment follows the template set by the first film just as faithfully as a ghost haunting its victim. We have a Palace, a ghost that haunts it, a bunch of eccentric characters (and there will always be a kid who will be the first one to spot the spirit), good-looking female leads, boyish-looking, barely functional male leads, Sundar C as the masculine saviour, godmen, overblown mysticism (with a saami paattu in the climax), tacky visual effects, a fun song with comic catchphrases and of course, the comedian who is the flavour of the season. In 2014, it was Santhanam. By 2016, he had moved on to become a hero, so it was Soori. And now, it is, of course, Yogi Babu! And as a bonus, this time, we also have Vivekh, whose career had just begun to gain a second wind before his unfortunate demise.

Here, the plot involves Eswari (Andrea Jeremiah), who has been wronged by Zamindar Rajashekar (Sampath), and returns with a vengeance as a ghost to take revenge on him and his daughter Jyothi (Raashi Khanna). Even as the zamindar's son-in-law (Sundar C) tries to find out the reasons behind the ghost targeting his family, it possesses Saravanan (Arya), Jyothi vs love interest, who has come to the palace on the pretext of repair work.

Given that this is the third film in the franchise, Sundar C seems to have felt that more the merrier. And so, we have here, in addition to the two star comedians, three ghosts instead of one, grand-looking sets and an over-the-top climax that rivals that of the Kanchana franchise. The film does what it intends to do, more or less. We get the jump scares and we get some comedy (though, the film is never as funny as the first film). Arya goes missing for large sections of the film, Raashi Khanna looks pretty all the time, Andrea is earnest and Sundar C is so confident of handling the ghost, Vivekh gives us a few bittersweet moments and Yogi Babu does his insult comedy. It all happens in predictable fashion, and by the time the film ends, we neither feel overwhelmed nor underwhelmed. That, in a way, is the director's success - making us feel contended with a passable and instantly forgettable entertainer.