Aathi

"Aathi" is a Tamil action romance directed by Ramana that starred Vijay, Trisha and comedian Vivek. The plot follows Aathi, who enrols in college in Chennai despite the objections of his adoptive parents while simultaneously plotting revenge for the murder of his biological family. Along the way, he crosses paths with Anjali, who pursues a similar mission for vengeance.

The movie begins with Anjali in Rameswaram as she kills a retired policeman, Shankar, with the help of her uncle, Ramachandran. From there they return to Chennai for college. Art by Rajiv Vaidya Aathi, who lives with his awesome mom, dad and little sis in their capital city of New Delhi, attends school in Chennai, their bitter rivals, with the best of them. His family, his wife, who just relocated so she could live close to him, and their young daughter join him so they can be close.

Anjali is enrolled at the same college, trying to avenge her family’s massacre in concert with Ramachandran and with Ramachandran’s assistance. Later, in a city, gangster RDX in a gang feud with Pattabhi sends his goon Sadha to threaten Aathi, who, in a series of events of self-defence, kills Sadha. In his anger, RDX mistakenly kills Pattabhi, thinking he is responsible. Aathi, with Bullet’s help confronts RDX defeats him and kills his right-hand man Abdullah after a horrific showdown.

As the story flashes back into Aathi’s past, we learn that Aathi’s sperm donor dad was a cop who arrested RDX’s right-hand man, leading to an attack so savage that it wiped out Aathi’s entire family. Aathi ignores his adoptive parents’ pleas to return home and is determined to take on RDX after the kidnapping of Anjali. In the film’s climax, Aathi overcomes and kills RDX, thus becoming reunited with Anjali, his family’s last surviving member.

"Aathi", though a classic action revenge story, has awesome performances from Vijay and Trisha. With the help of cinematographer Linus Sandgren, the filmmakers have intertwined the film’s larger-than-life pieces with smaller, more intimate family moments of grief and loyalty. Finally, the supporting cast provides unexpected comedy relief, bringing balance and rhythmic timing to an otherwise anxious, sometimes chaotic drama.