Nayanthara had been displaying that she has the smartness to pick the right scripts. With the kind of movies she had done in the recent years, the actress has proved that she knows how to balance between woman-centric and commercial films. Now, she is back with Airaa.
Story:
The movie revolves around a media personnel Yamuna and Bhavani, both played by Nayanthara. The former desires to have her YouTube channel. She comes up with an idea where she fabricates videos of ghosts and her experiment begins at her grandmother's bungalow in Pollachi. It becomes very popular in a matter of time.
On the other side, a few commit suicide in Chennai under mysterious circumstances and there is a link to Yamuna. What follows next should be watched on-screen.
Airaa is not just a pure horror film, but there is a lot to it. More than a horror flick, it is an emotional film without too much of melodrama. It also touches on the subjects like rape, harassment, bullying and many others. One fine example is how Nayan's character hits back at slut-shaming. More importantly, the Butterfly affect concept needs to be hailed.
There is an attempt to present Nayanthara like a superstar and her performance proves again why she is called a Lady Superstar by fans. However, the narration is not tight in the first half, while the movie has a lacklustre climax. Technically, cinematography stands out from other departments.
However, critics are divided over Airaa. While some have found the movie to be a passable entertainer as it laces multiple messages in spite of belonging to horror genre, others feel that it fails to engage the audience. Checkout what they say about the flick below:
TOI: It tries to play around with the Butterfly Effect concept to make the revenge angle – a staple of horror films – seem unique, but unfortunately, this attempt backfires. One of the main problems with the film is that Yamuna is an uninteresting character with no endearing trait to make us fear for her safety.
Sify: Airaa would have worked with Bhavani's portions alone, the horror angle actually takes away the novelty of the film. Had director Sarjun focused only on the emotionally moving story of Bhavani, Airaa would have been a classic. The butterfly effect to the horror thriller is another interesting aspect of the film.
India Today: The first half of Airaa aims to induce fear in the audience's mind. But, having watched over 100 horror films in the last few years, the audience has, by now, turned immune to them and it takes a great deal to pull off jump scares today. For any horror film, the backstory plays a major role and Sarjun has crafted a relatable story in Airaa.
