Director : Harish Narayanan and Hari Shankar
Producer– KTVR Creative Reels
Music : Venkat Prabushankar
Cast : Parthiban, Gokul, Ajay, Srijith, Jagan, Thambi Ramaiah
Ambuli 3D, touted as Tamil cinema's first stereoscopic Digital film in 3D has been made by the director duo of Harish and Hari. It keeps the audience glued to the screen every second, is a fact that goes in its favour. The 3D effects add to the drama and suspense on screen, adding immensely to the enjoyment and thrill levels.
The story is surprisingly enough, set in 1978! Two friends, Vendhan (Srijith) and Amudhan ( Ajay) decide to spend time together in their college campus once the college closes for summer. Vendhan lives on the campus since his father (Thambi Ramaiah) is the watchman and Amudhan decides to stay back this summer since he wants to court his love who lives in the local village nearby.
The only problem in meeting her is the long route to the village, stretching for miles on end and which involves traveling up a river. So Amudhan decides to take the shorter route to her home each day, which falls through a huge abandoned field. But he is warned not to do so as the legend of a ferocious man eater, Ambuli, has kept the field out of bounds for the locals who live in constant fear of the beast who has eaten anyone who travels through after dusk.
But Amudhan dismisses it as folklore and is unfazed and due to his bravado, has an encounter in the dark with the fearful Ambuli, who scares him out of his wits. But no one has actually sighted this man eater and the two friends now become determined to find out whether he actually exists.
What they discover is a man called Senkottaiyan, a devilish looking forest dweller who lives alone in the abandoned fields, and the suspicion naturally points to him. But on enquiry with the villagers they discover that he is actually the brother of the Ambuli! Their curiosity is now further roused and they are determined to uncover the legend of the Ambuli.
Their voyage of discovery takes them to the local village and back to their university as bit by bit they unravel the mystery, revealing a stupendous and unbelievable truth that has given rise to this monster, whom every one fears but no one has seen. Do the villagers get over their living nightmare, being experienced for decades? Do the youngsters catch the Ambuli? Does he even exist for that matter? These are questions that the movie will answer for you!
The 3D effects are very well done, be it the stunts, the cobweb covered rooms, the fields, the scary monster effects or the songs. The background score is a huge plus and gives the desired chilling effect. There are some songs which are love duets which are mostly forgettable though the prayer song and the peppy opening song are interesting. The music has been kept with the Seventies effect in mind as have the costumes and settings. The seventies effect is well brought out by the art and costume departments and adds a quaint touch to the movie. The authenticity has been kept right down to the smallest details. It may be distracting for some who may not relate to the period, but the effort taken by the directors is worthy of laurels.
Some of the dialogues between the friends may sound a bit 'filmi' but the directors assure us they are meant to sound like that in order to add to the quaint feel of the film. Parthiban as the forest dweller is exceptional and really fits into the character while the entire cast has done justice to their roles, right from the village granny to the Ambuli himself.
The climax scene is interesting and leaves room for a sequel quite clearly. The camerawork by Satish G elicits praise. Though the film leaves a few questions unanswered here and there, overall, its certainly well worth a watch with the entire family. A homegrown 3D film, it's a commendable effort indeed.
Verdict: Above Average
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