Ajagajantharam review: Antony Varghese film celebrates chaos, but sacrifices on the story

3.5/5

Story: As Aranjali is busy celebrating a local temple festival, things turn into absolute mayhem after a group of trouble loving locals go head-to-head with a team of mahouts. However, the mahouts end up incurring the wrath of the public and a notorious criminal. 

Review: After the release of Tinu Pappachan’s directorial debut Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil in 2018, it was clear that the filmmaker had a lot to offer. His liberal use of slow motion juxtaposed against stellar action scenes kept the audience hooked to every minute of the film.

His latest, Ajagajantharam offers another dose of his capabilities as an action film director. The feature excels on the technical front, and reintroduces controlled chaos on the lines of Lijo Jose Pellisery’s works (Jallikattu, Angamaly Diaries and Ee. Maa. Yau). 

From the very beginning the film does an excellent job in taking the audience right into a busy temple festival taking place in a village. With a great selection of shots coupled with first-class sound work, the experience of watching the festival is immersive. The film kicks into fifth gear right away, wasting no time before introducing absolute chaos. 

Tinu Pappachan not only uses actors to bring controlled chaos into Ajagajantharam, but utilises the crisp editing brought to you by Shameer Muhammed. The editing helps elevate the chaos most times, but what it does better is it keeps heating up the kettle until it reaches boiling point. While we know things are about to go down, the editing and music keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, as they wait to see how it all unfolds. 

The acting is also on point, with Antony Varghese and Kichu Tellus, who co-wrote the movie, playing two shortfuse mahouts while Arjun Ashokan, Lukman Avaran and Sudhi Koppa shine as members from a group of locals, who get into a scuffle with the mahouts. While keeping the chaos at check, they also deliver some great moments on screen. Arjun Ashokan also one-ups his character from Varathan, playing a short tempered local, who has an eye for trouble and blood.

Besides the editing, cinematography and sound, the action choreography and direction are also major positives. The fight scenes where the actors have to scurry under and around an elephant and the final stretch of the movie, which is a long action scene, are all choreographed and executed with aplomb. While the action sequences keep the movie going forward, the story has nothing new to offer, and is more or less negligible because of what unfolds on screen.

The music by Justin Varghese raises the tension and temperature of the scenes that build up to a big climax. Jinto George has managed to capture the feel of the festival with his frames, experimenting with bright and colourful frames and at the same time switching the mood with a low light setting. 

The sound designers and mixers also deserve another shoutout for completing this cinematic experience which would not translate as smoothly to a small screen. So, it’s highly recommended to mask up and catch this film in a theatre ASAP. 

Verdict: Ajagajandharam is a film that offers impeccable, grounded and realistic action scenes that can be best enjoyed in a theatre.