It might have won the Grand Jury Award for Best Film at the South Asian International Film Festival but Aaranya Kaandam did not receive similar dignified reception in the home country. The movie, reportedly stuck with the Censor Officials, was recommended a whopping number of cuts and kick started a long battle between the producers and the officials. At the end, we do not know who relented but it's delightful all the same to find the movie finally on screens - ready for release this weekend.

What does Aaranya Kaandam deal with is a mystery for very little has been disclosed in this regard. But the movie is bound to have some real good performances by its lead performers. Jackie Shroff makes his Tamil debut and along with him are Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj and Yasmin Ponnappa who is a debutante. Aaranya Kaandam is produced by SPB Charan and is scored by Yuvan. The movie was premiered on the 30th of October at the South Asian International Film Festival.

Written and directed by another debut artist Thiagarajan Kumararaja (whose credentials include numerous ad films and short films), Aaranya Kaandam runs for 153 minutes. The movie’s production started in December 2008 and went for another couple of years until it was screened at the Festival. P.S. Vinod is the cinematographer of Aaranya Kaandam.

Tamil films are going through a self-realization phase and new attempts are being encouraged like never before. Perfect timing for a movie like Aaranya Kaandam.