Express News Service
Aelay is Halitha Shameem’s massiest film to date she even sneaks in a whistle-worthy theatre moment by invoking Vijay’s Mersal in the unlikeliest of places. A hero introduction scene prompts townsfolk to go, “Baahubali maadhri vella varaan paaru.” From Baahubali to Mersal, and even a random shoutout to Kadaikutty Singam, it is interesting to observe Halitha embrace, in her own way, the commercial aspects of Tamil cinema.
The film begins with a voiceover that introduces us to Parthi (Manikandan making yet another case of his potential to be a lead hero) and his father Muthukutty (a brilliant Samuthirakani). Theirs is a world where everything doesn’t always happen for a reason, a world without binaries that Halitha takes time to build. Muthukutty is shown to be a bad father, but Halitha ensures we don’t label him as a bad man. Parthi is neither a great son nor is he likely to win ‘boyfriend of the year’ awards.