Ayutha Ezhuthu means the three little circles in triangle formation that forms a function in the Tamil script. Ezhuttu is writing. Ayutham can also mean weapon, indicating violence - which is very much what the main two leads get involved in.

 

Mathavan is a tug for hire, Inba. He gets involved with some bad company, namely a bad politician (Barathiraja), and finally guns down Surya's character, Michael. Michael is a brilliant student who has turned down an important scholarship to go overseas, to pursue his own personal mission in political reform. Siddarth is a lovey dovey boy who gets caught in the middle of the political struggle, and getting his priorities mixed up in the process.

 

You can view this movie from the three angles conveniently provided by the director. Mathavan and his personal failure in redemption from violence and crime. Surya, and his crusade against bad politicians, or Siddarth, a youth who didn't know what he is looking for, till this incident and his meeting with Trisha's character.

 

As for me, I found myself fixed on Mathavan's episodes. His performance very much reminded me of Rajini in Tappu Talanggal, and to a certain extend, Kamal in Sathya - all monuments in those respectful stars' resume. Mathavan's performance bristles with tension. Thanks to the script, his Inba is so unpredictable that he is actually scary. It has been a long time since I had actually been scary of a character in Tamil movie. Each time Mathavan appears, I fear that some beloved ones may get hurt. He kills his own brother and friend. He regrets it but he couldn't stop it.

 

The psychology of his character is so complex, that I doubt if the Tamil film viewers can decipher it - like the main characters in Mani's Iruvar. He is the bad guy of the movie, and yet he is the most sympathetic. When Michael beats him up in the end, he tells Inba, "you are not my enemy". True, he is caught in some warfare that he could never understand. He is a hired hand. An emotional one. He loses his wife, who had earlier aborted their baby when she believed that he killed Michael. Michael survives, but Inba loses both the baby and later his wife.

 

As I said, the last time we had a character like this was Rajini in Tappu Talanggal, a street thug looking for redemption, who finds one, but ultimately ends up only messing things up further. Mathavan's character is no exception. He is an untamed animal born in the streets, and it is best the only way to tame him is to lock him up. Finally, here is one actor that has the 'animal' that kept stars like Kamal and Rajini durable.

 

And also - in Mathavan - I had never seen a more intense love scene. Yeah, Kamal has always been at east at those scenes, and I think he had found a perfect successor in Mathavan. Mathavan, my boy, you have a lot more to contribute to the Tamil film industry. You make us proud. I would love to see him getting awards for this role. He deserves it.

 

Surya and Siddarth did their part well - too bad Mathavan overshadows them. The girls are almost window dressing here, if not for the fact that they are there just help the heroes to brood a bit more longer, or to tickle their sense of humour. As a matter of fact, the romance involving these two leads are perhaps the weakest part of the movie. But it doesn't linger long enough to make us groan.

 

And another surprise is Barathiraja. Man, he surely can act. I wonder why he stayed away for long after his acting debut in Kallukkul Eeram. When he came to the industry, he had first wanted to be an actor. As fate would have it, he became on of the most successful director in the industry.

 

Coming back to the movies. Before going for it, my brother told that he had no expectation. "At least we can be assured that the music and cinematography will be good," he said. And it was the truth. Rahman has always been good with his themes, and the frightening theme he used for Mathavan is exceptionally good. The songs serves the situation, rather than a window to further fantasies. Mani treated the songs the same way it was treated before the nineties, as situational pieces. He never strayed away to Switzerland or New Zealand, but in his own motherland. The camerawork by Ravi K. Chandran (his collaborator in the excellent Kannathil Mutthamittal) is quiet, and at times loud if necessary.

 

The final scene where Surya, in his denim, is surrounded by older politicians in white shirt and dhoti, growing in numbers as the camera pulls back, is terrifying. The ironic part was it was Surya's character that was the black spot in the white sheet. Eerie. Such is the power of cinematography in this film.

 

The youth in this film seemed to be winning at the end. Most may find that as a triumph, but personally I saw that as a hopeless situation. The scene I mentioned is probably one of the most morbid endings in the history of Tamil films. Mani seemed to have apparently given up on the idea of youth revolution in Indian politics. It's a goner. And it is sad.

 

So, Mani is back. Will the audience accept him? I told someone that it was the audience that gave him the flops and two heart attacks. Will that happen again?