Aranya Movie Review : An engaging ride

Story: When a wealthy real estate company, backed by a powerful minister decides to build a township in a reserve forest area, it cuts off access to the water body to the elephants living in the area, endangering their lives. One man, however, decides to fight for their cause at a time when nobody else would.

Review: We hear the sound of rustling leaves, screeching birds and a distant roar as the opening credits finish rolling. It doesn't take us long to enter the world Prabu Solomon has created for us. There are majestic looking elephants, which seem to have a tinge of sadness in their eyes. But these are not gentle creatures, they're adivi elephants (wild elephants) -- they can be devastating when they're upset and nobody dares to go anywhere near them. Well, nobody except Narendra Bhupathi aka Aranya (Rana Daggubati). Touted as the forest man of India, Aranya lives in the forest and is responsible for planting 1 lakh trees in the region. He is, quite literally, a man of the forest. His ears are always cocked up, almost expecting to hear a sound, he speaks to birds in an unusual language and with the elephants in dramatic sign language. When he does speak to humans, he doesn't talk -- he snarls. And with good reason. His only goal in life is to fulfill a promise he made to his father -- to take care of all the elephants in the region. But this promise is now under threat as a wealthy real estate company, backed by a powerful politician (Anant Mahadevan) wants to setup a luxury township sprawling across 500 acres in the reserve forest area. This township comes with a 6km-long concrete wall, blocking access to water to the elephants, endangering their lives. With the whole state machinery behind the township, Aranya is left waging a lone battle.
The first few minutes of the film are among the best. The visual effects, backed by the background score (by Shantanu Moitra) is spot on. The portrayal of the elephants is even better -- they're not just shown as these gentle creatures who love to bathe, eat fruits and play with each other. They're shown as powerful creatures who cannot be messed with. When the construction workers attempt to set up a fence for the first time, they invite the elephants' wrath, and you can almost feel their fury and fear them while you sit in the cinema hall. At the same time, your heart breaks when you see them pining for water and hopelessly stand against the wall hoping to find a way to feed their kids.
Unfortunately, when the focus shifts away from the forest, Aranya loses its zing. The characterisation of the antagonist Anant Mahadevan, whose dream it is to set up the luxury township, isn't very convincing. He openly threatens journalists at cocktail parties and even gets those who write against him fired from their jobs. Despite being a powerful minister, he personally goes to visit a man who's protesting against him in prison. He then tries to provoke him with his words and gets attacked, in a scene that is reminiscent of masala movies of the 90s. There is a fight scene on the streets of New Delhi that the film could have done without. The cops and government officials are portrayed as these evil guys who don't think twice before taking a rifle and shooting down an elephant. Solomon could have shown them as officers merely following orders, rather than portraying them as pure evil (A DFO and an inspector come to mind).
The director brings back the elephant from his earlier film Kumki -- this time it's called Chitti and is accompanied by a mahout called Singa (Vishnu Vishal), who is brought in to keep the other elephants at bay and ensure the construction takes place smoothly. There's forced comedy between Singa and his uncle (Raghu Babu) and a romantic track (if you can call it that) with a naxalite (Zoya Hussain). Also thrown into the mix is a journalist (Shriya Pilgaonker) who empathises with Aranya's cause and wants to tell his story. But all these characters seem like distractions from Aranya's story. Whenever Solomon moves away from the forest, he fails to keep you hooked.
But when the focus is on the elephants and Aranya, it makes for a thrilling ride. Rana is outstanding. His speech and his body language is spot on and the way he connects with the elephants is heartwarming. The real heroes, though, are the elephants and you can't help but put yourself in their shoes and feel their emotions. Enugula intlo manushula arachakam (humans create a ruckus in the elephants' home), reads a newspaper headline in the film. In a way, watching Aranya feels the same way. When you see the elephants in their natural habitat, it's a joyous watch. Alas, the humans find a way to ruin it!