Dear directors of Tamil cinema,
Like most people who grew up on a healthy diet of K-TV and Jaya TV, I am someone who enjoys watching all kinds of films. I’m happy to suspend my disbelief for all sorts of whacko plot points. Children metamorphosing into Ammans and snakes, wives selling their husbands for jewels, and finding out if Leo Das is the real Leo Das, even though it is completely unnecessary..
Heck, I’m willing to indulge this one-man-beating-and-killing-300-goons-in-one-go trope too. But give me some meat and the characters some dimension before launching into several hours of lecherous killing. That’s all I ask.
Anbil Avan, a romantic thriller set in a hill station in Tamil Nadu, begins well with a commitment to love, life, dreams, and dignity. But all of it comes undone in its jejune 30-minute climax, where punch after punch and killing after killing test the audience’s frankly infinite patience.
Ashok Selvan and Preity Mukhundhan in a still from ‘Anbil Avan’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The film by director R Kaarthikeyan follows Surya (Ashok Selvan), a great-looking, kind husband, and his wife, Iyal (Preity Mukhundhan), a stunning yet simple woman with entrepreneurial dreams. They are a handsome, new-age couple at the cusp of achieving their dream: establishing a homestay with ‘vintage exteriors and a minimalist interior space’ with tonnes of beautiful chlorophyll-filled plants lighting up in the afternoon sun.
The two are introduced as a hand-in-glove duo who share responsibilities and chores, while spending hours at work trying to survive the cutthroat and sometimes humiliating hospitality industry. They put their careers on the line based on a promise that Surya made to Iyal when they were once wild, carefree college sweethearts. Off they go to the hills, scouting for the perfect house to make their own.
Anbil Avan (Tamil)
Director: R Kaarthikeyan
Cast: Ashok Selvan, Preity Mukhundhan, Revathy
Runtime: 157 minutes
Storyline: A newly married couple’s dream of building a life together in the hills turns into a bloody fight for survival
From the start, Surya makes it clear he will go to any lengths to ensure his wife’s dreams never go unfulfilled. She has, after all, left her rich family to marry him. He makes her masala dosas after his hectic shift to ensure that when she arrives from her hotel, she eats something she craves. But he also convinces a Queen (played by a perfectly cast, beautiful-looking Revathy) to sell her house, stacked with years of memories and an unexplained grief.
The first half is intense in that it has few songs, enjoyable chemistry that we just about see slowly blossoming, and little (very) humour. It takes a while to establish the central conflict, but that is all right as the film’s hook at the interval is perfectly placed. It piques the audience’s curiosity and leaves us wanting more.
The central couple show quite a range, especially while resolving conflict. It is refreshing to watch both actors be livid, cry, kiss, and comprehend their new, complicated reality full of government offices, corrupt officers, and tonnes of paperwork, with acting rigour. Their desperation for a quiet, easy life is tremendous to witness, especially because of how relatable they seem.
The trope-filled characters (all the villains) — policemen, politicians, goons (synonyms, eh?) — all play their roles perfectly too. One does not even have to try to find the bad guys. Their demeanour makes it eminently clear.
Preity Mukhundhan and Ashok Selvan in a still from ‘Anbil Avan’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
It is at this point that it becomes evident that performances are not Anbil Avan’s problem. It’s the need for a tighter, sharper script with few loopholes.
The second half is a blur. Everything that can go wrong for this couple (have I mentioned they both individually look great?) goes wrong. The film ends with this tireless 30-minute charade of an action sequence. After fighting all night, Surya, with a bruised and cut-filled Iyal on his shoulder, slumps to the ground on his porch. Day breaks. She doesn’t wake up. Is she dead? The audience, which once wanted this couple to win, seems uninterested, and sometimes annoyed by how long they’ve spent watching Ashok Selvan using an iron garden rake to kill everyone ever in that poor little hill station.
When she does come alive due to some wish on a whimpy-looking shooting star, the audience groans. That’s where the film falls.
The director seems to have a penchant for callbacks that seem unnecessary, especially at the end. They come together in one go and fail to become symbols they were supposed to be.
At the end, the film makes Preity’s Iyal seem annoying, especially at the end, because she seems like an annoying, anxiety-filled girlfriend who keeps asking “Do you love me?” every three minutes. It doesn’t help that she never carries her inhaler on her (her life depends on it). This is after a fantastic action sequence where she uses all her strength to stop her own rape by using an iron and a fire hydrant to decimate a nightmarish police officer’s penis. A lost opportunity to make this woman the hero she is.
Anbil Avan tries to answer the question, ‘What will you do for love when you have nothing else?’ I walk out of the theatre, not answering the above, but knowing that if I ever visit a hill station, I will be carrying more ammo than my puny Swiss knife.
Sometimes, less is more. It helps to keep that in mind.
We appreciate that the film tried though.
Anbil Avan is currently running in theatres
Published – October 02, 2026 05:01 pm IST
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