''Aachariyangal'' () is a 2012 Tamil-language

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written, produced and directed by debutant director

Harshavardhan Harshavardhana (IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajyava ...

, starring

Thaman Kumar Thaman Kumar is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. He made his breakthrough in the 2012 film ''Sattam Oru Iruttarai (2012 film), Sattam Oru Iruttarai'', opposite Bindu Madhavi. Career Thaman Kumar was signed up for a fi ...

Aishwarya Rajesh Aishwarya Rajesh (born 10 January 1990) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Tamil films, alongside Telugu and Malayalam films. She is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards, one Filmfare Award South and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. Aish ...

, Reethu Mangal and

Mahanadi Shankar Mahanadi Shankar is an Indian stage, film and television actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films and serials as supporting actor and negative roles. He has appeared in films including ''Mahanadi'' (1994), ''Baashha'' (1995), ''Ratchagan ...

. The film released on 24 August 2012.

Plot

Karthik (

) wants a "spicy life" and asks God to make his life as eventful as possible. He gets a mysterious call from 'God', who tells his that his wish has been granted and his life will change for the better or worse in the next 25 days...

Cast

Production

The team of the film met actor

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

in July 2012, with the director Harshavardhan being an alumnus of Kamal Haasan's 2009 screen-writing workshop.

Critical reception

Rohit Ramachandran of Nowrunning.com rated it 3.5/5 stating that "Aachariyangal's got a sophisticated plot that's narrated with due simplicity and directed with candid straightforwardness." Malini Mannath of

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

concluded "Aachariyangal is a fairly enagaging icfare from a debutant maker, who has made an effort to strike a different chord." Times of India gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "if Aachariyangal works to a certain extent, it is mainly because of the inherent what-next suspense that the plot holds". Behindwoods gave 1.5 out of 5 and wrote "Aachariyangal might not make your day but it has its trump cards lined-up just when you feel like brushing it away". The film went unnoticed commercially and resulted in a major loss for Harshavardhan, which he later admitted in 2018 on a video uploaded to his

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channel ''Showpepper TV''.

References

{{reflist 2012 films 2010s Tamil-language films 2012 directorial debut films