Siddharth’s Aruvam/Vadaladu Review: A Tedious Below-Average Attempt!

Actor Siddharth, who is riding high on the success of Sivappu Manjal Pachai is back with yet another horror-thriller Aruvam, where he played a food Inspection officer. Directed by debutant Sai Shekar, the storyline of Aruvam follows Jagan (Siddharth), an honest food inspector, who goes on a mission to seal all food joints and food manufacturing industries indulging in adulteration. This does not go well with quite a few large syndicates as they plan to get rid of him. The remainder of the storyline showcases how Jagan manages to take revenge through his lover Jothi (Catherine Tresa) and is told in a cliche horror template.

Also Read: Mammooty’s Ganagandharvan Review: A Decent Entertainer!

Moving on with the positives, Siddharth seems decent as the male lead and the thirty minutes post interval is scripted very well. The portions leading to the climax were also decently portrayed with the school incident. However, the movie is a disappointment for the most part as the first half with a long romantic portion and a silly climax result in an underwhelming product. Catherine Tresa has a decent role on paper, but it does not fare well on-screen.

Regarding the technical aspects of Aruvam, the background score by Thaman S was loud and repetitive. N. K. Ekambaram’s cinematography and the editing work by Praveen K. L. are unfortunately subpar. Also, the substandard graphics and the recurring locations which are seen in other movies do not add a fresh new feel to any of the scenes.

Although Sai Shekar contemplates a relevant message through the film and cleverly incorporated the WhatsApp messages we receive when it comes to food adulteration, horror template was not effective. And as a whole, Aruvam is a below-average attempt and is tedious to watch to a large extent. [This review is first posted on Biju Peter’s Movies & Photography Blog]

Rating – 2/5 | Grade – C

Written by Biju Peter
Assisted by Surya Komal