312. Airaa; movie review

AIRAA
Cert 15
141 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong supernatural threat, bloody images
Why does it take so many Indian movies so long to get going?
Airaa is a mess for more than 90 minutes and yet it becomes riveting for its final 45 when the ghost story which director Sarjun KM intended finally grabs.
This should have been another instance of less is more. For example, the contribution of Yogi Babu, who seems to be almost omnipresent in Tamil cinema, is totally superfluous.
He injects his usual slapstick comedy, dissipating the tension of what should have been an enthralling horror.
While Babu's contribution is unnecessary, Nayantara's certainly isn't. In fact, she gives twice the value by playing two roles.
The first is of a young woman who runs away from the pressures of her parents' home to live with her grandmother (Kulappulli Leela).
While there she alights upon a money-spinner in producing ghost story videos for YouTube.
However, her movies become a bit too eerie when a real spirit begins to spook her and her nearest and dearest.
Indeed, she is haunted by the past of her doppelganger who works in the hospitality department of a hotel.
Meanwhile, Kalaiyarasan plays her childhood friends and lover.
It could have been the recipe for an entertaining couple of hours but I am afraid, for quite a while, Airaa slips into the same bag of cliches as so many Indian horror movies.
Thankfully, it does finally take a turn for the better but the problem is that I reckon many audiences will have given up by then.

Reasons to watch: If you want your horror to be very basic
Reasons to avoid: Takes far too long to make its point

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 5/10

Did you know? Nayanthara is the only female actor to have made it to the Forbes India Celebrity 100 2018 list from South India with her total earning credited at 15.17 crore rupees (£132m).

The final word. Kalaiyarasan: "It is normal to feel hesitant when working with a big star, but Nayanthara is very supportive of her co-stars. When other artistes botched a scene and required a few more takes, she didn’t mind re-doing it. She was casual but highly professional."

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