Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan review: A film of 2 inconsistent halves

Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan is a commercial entertainer that has everything Simbu fans would expect in abundance.

The story begins in Dubai where Kasturi, an investigating officer, is going after anti-social elements. In due course, she discovers that the don she is looking for, Madurai Michael (Simbu), originally migrated from India and is so good at what he does that the police don't have so much as a photograph of him.

Kasturi takes into custody one of Michael's close friends and begins interrogating him. Soon, he gives details of what made Madurai Michael come to Dubai and become a big gangster. He also goes into a flashback of Madurai Michael.

The flashback begins with Michael, a feared assassin, loyal friend and hopeless romantic, breaking out of prison to rescue his heart-throb (Shriya Saran) from getting married to another person. As he reaches the venue of the wedding, however, he has a change of heart and chooses not to interfere in her life as he wishes her to be peaceful and happy. "What will she get marrying me, a murderer on the run?" he asks and we are shown who Michael was and how, just when he was about to turn a new leaf for Shriya's sake, he is stabbed in the back by someone he had trusted.

In the second half, the story comes back to the present-day scenario. Michael is now 58 years old and settled in Chennai. He has assumed a new identity as Ashwin Thatha to escape the police. But it is here that we are in for a surprise.

The story takes off on a tangent and we find Simbu looking for a life partner. He mistakes Tamannaah Bhatia for a prospective bride and eventually falls in love with her. Her admiring looks and pep talk give him reason to believe that she too is interested in him. And then fate delivers yet another rude shock to Michael alias Ashwin Thatha. The shock is so rude that it brings Ashwin Thatha's tenacious and fearful side to the fore.

The film has been made in two parts and the first part ends quite abruptly. Simbu as Ashwin Thaatha is impressive. By contrast, his performance as Madurai Michael is only reasonably good. The first half of the film, which deals with Michael's initial years in Madurai, is boring, with the story moving on predictable lines. Those sequences that are supposed to evoke laughter fail miserably to do so.

The second half is a lot better. However, the film is full of double meaning dialogues, which might not go down well with family audiences. Also, Simbu seems to have taken pot-shots at several others in the film industry through the dialogues of this film.

The comedy is a lot better in the second half than it is in the first. However, it still falls short of one's expectations. Shriya is just about okay while Tamannaah Bhatia sizzles in the film. In fact, she steals the show, be it with her acting or dancing.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is a big strength for the film as is the camera work of Krishnan Vasant.

On the whole, this film of Adhik Ravichandran might appeal to you only if you are a Simbu fan.