Time and again there have been movies that have dealt with the social issues. Sometimes the politicians to be blamed, sometimes it is the police, sometimes it is medical services and sometimes it is a single point of blame - SYSTEM! But who makes the system? Is it a name as above or is it every individual who consciously or unconsciously becomes a part of the system? This is a question that director Shankar aims to answer in his magnum opus 'Aparichit - The Stranger' that is a dubbed version of Tamil blockbuster 'Anniyan' that released down South last year! The man has already attempted to tackle the subject in at least three of his films in the past - 'Gentleman', 'Hindustani' and 'Nayak'. Now he takes the subject further and targets the man on the road with 'Aparichit - The Stranger'.
Ramanuj aka Ambi [Vikram] is a young lawyer who is fondly/sarcastically called as Rules Ramanuj due to him being particular about anything that goes against the law. So much so that one fine day when he attempts a suicide, he leaves the process mid-way because that is against the law. But more about that later!
A simpleton, he is frustrated by anything and everything that goes wrong on the streets. A man trying to break the traffic rules, a faulty break wire being openly sold, eve teasing in the buses, a cyclist spitting all over on the roads, contractor selling rotten food in the trains, bad condition of a bogie - there are innumerous such instances that dishearten him and make him wonder that why are people not particular about a fellow human being, just like himself! His desperation about the state around him reaches an all time high when an old man dies in front of him on a road due to lack of medical attention. Frustrated, he hits upon a website called 'Aparichit' that aims to punish everyone who commits a wrong - whether small or big!
Overnight Ambi's life changes! 'Aparichit' enters the scene and the city begins to shudder. A man who can hardly be recognized due to his face always hidden with long hair, he arrives at any time of the day and punishes the one who commits a wrong. Victim gets the ghastliest death possible, whether by getting stomped over by hundreds of buffaloes or burnt live in a cauldron or eaten away by leeches! News spreads about the incidents and a cop [Prakash Raj] gets on his trail. One cue leads to another and it is revealed that each of the deaths is as per 'hindu puranas' where there is a form of punishment defined for every crime.
Meanwhile Ambi continues to be in his ideal world and proposes his childhood love Nandini [Sada]. His simple approach and following of rules even for proposing his love [he hands over the proposal letter to her parents] ticks off Nandini for whom it doesn't take much time to fall in love with much more dashing, debonair and stylish model Remo. Heartbroken, Ambi attempts suicide but miraculously escapes death. In the meanwhile Aparichit continues to erase the dirt from the society while Remo keeps himself busy in wooing Nandini with flowers, mid-night entry to her house and sharing some lovely sweet-nothing moments.
Events take a sudden turn when it is revealed that Ambi, Aparichit and Remo are not three different individuals but three personalities trapped in one. An investigation by a doctor [Nasser] proves that Ambi suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder [MPD] that is due to his childhood trauma of losing his sister because of sheer corruption and carelessness of people in the society. Now Ambi in him makes him hate everything going wrong in the society, the Aparichit in him makes him punish the wrong doers while the Remo in him helps him get out his inferiority complex and woo the love of his life.
But is there an end to this tale? Will the cops on trail ever nail him? Whom would Nandini accept now? Will he be able to make the society realize its responsibilities? Will he continue to suffer from multiple personalities throughout his life? Or would there be a fourth personality that would be born out of him?
An interesting subject told in a stylish manner, 'Aparichit' is no doubt a complex story to be told. One loophole in the script/screenplay and the film could have come crashing down. But credit to Shankar that he keeps your attention on hold throughout the film's duration. He makes an ideal 'masala' fare that entertains you while also conveying the message loud and clear. Inspite of the film being shot in Tamil, the treatment is so contemporary that never once do you mind watching it in a dubbed version.
Vikram is undoubtedly the lifeline of the film. With a lesser actor one can't imagine the fate of the film but he expresses hopelessness, terror and style alternatively with his three characters [Ambi, Aparichit, Remo] respectively in the film. Once it is revealed that he is THE man with different personalities and moods, he changes color like a chameleon and simply stuns the audience with his versatility. Watch out for him in the concluding reels when he first attempts to kill Nandini and then his entire stint in the lockup. Simply mind-blowing!
For a film like this, any other protagonist doesn't really have much part to play but to the credit of Prakash Raj, Sada and Vivek, each of them make their presence felt. Prakash Raj does get hysterical at places but overall he is competent. Sada deserves to be seen more and should find herself an opportunity in Bollywood. She does well in coming across as a simple girl to transforming completely as a glam doll at places and acts decently as well. Vivek is a good comic actor and one wonders why he hasn't been seen in any film by Priyadarshan so far since the director is famous for roping in dozens of comic actors in his films.
Harris Jayaraj's music is of mixed variety with 'Gora Gora' and 'Remo' being the pick of the lot. Sets [Sabu Cyril] are mostly lavish while the outdoor locales have a certain authenticity around them. Camerawork [Manikanandan] is sharp while the action sequences [Peter Heynes] are the highlights of the film. Watch out for the scenes where Ambi transforms into Aparichit for the first time and gets back to the hitters or the entire sequence in the school of martial arts. Any blemish in this overall entertaining film? Length of some of the scenes. At places, a sequence refuses to end at all. One of the examples being the entire flashback sequence!
'Aparichit' is a good film to be watched for its sheer entertainment value. For the lovers of action flicks it is one of the best products to have arrived on screens this year while those craving for high drama won't be disappointed as well. And if the message in the film comes across well, then it is simply 'sone pe suhaga'.
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