Ambuli (2012) User Reviews

"Shyamalanisque"

[sribornagain-394-460163 · 7/10 · 13 June 2012]

The first ever-stereoscopic 3D film in Tamil cinema "Ambuli" written & directed by Hari Shankar and Hareesh Narayan is an impressive attempt. In spite of all the limitations & constraints, the duo has done a neat job in creating the 3D effect on par any other 3D movie that we have across. The technical crew have done great deal of hard work in creating the spectacle on screen .

But technical brilliance alone would not ensure a good cinema; it should have a backing of a solid story & seamless screenplay which "Ambuli" sure has. The makers have tried the "Shyamalanisque" technique of generating suspense & shock by not revealing the perpetrator of horror for most part of the film. The mysterious & unknown terror provokes more anxiety & fear than when it gets revealed seems to be the viewpoint behind the screenplay which works wonder in creating what it intends to.

No point in the two and half hours of the movie's running time does one feel bored or disengaged from the movie's story. Enough twists & turns, mysteries & thrills provide the viewers sufficient entertainment.

Parthiban is dependable as ever in his cameo while all the other newcomers in the cast Ajai ,Srijith , Sanam, Jothisa who play the lead foursome are sincere in their efforts . Only aberration is the amounts of make-up the leading ladies have indulged in, even while they are supposed to sleep...! Jagan has a substantial role moving away from his comfort zone & he does a good job at it. Veterans like Thambi Ramaiah , Uma Riyaz , Kalairani , Balasingh do what is expected of them.

G.Satish is the real hero of the movie. His hard work in handling the cinematography in the stereoscopic format pays dividend on screen. It is an astonishing feat by him providing the viewers with quality & flawless 3D motion picture with such limited resources.

Background score by Venkat Prabhu Sankar succeeds in creating the shocks & thrills wherever it is needed. The songs composed by 4 music directors are not that impressive.

On the whole, "Ambuli" deserves viewing in theater equipped with 3D projection not only to enjoy the experience of it but also to encourage the talented team for it's out of box thinking, hard work & flawless execution.

Bottomline: "Shyamalanisque"

A different attempt - One should encourage if they like Sci-fi movies

[deadwalks · 7/10 · 5 January 2019]

The movie is fairly under-rated. This is a very different attempt in Tamil movies.

Cons: 3D effect of the movie is the major draw back. A better casting would have helped the movie. Climax could have been better.

Pros: Has a strong story that will make you keep watching. Very minimal songs. Good screenplay.

I would definitely advice to give it a watch do not trust the cumulative rating

Ambuli

[santhosh-10290 · 7/10 · 19 July 2019]

The movie was so good. Everybody acted good in the movie. Songs and BGM in the movie were worst. The movie can be more interesting and thrilling.

Average film using 3D as just a gimmick

[chennaiarun2007 · 4/10 · 26 February 2012]

Ambuli is about the mysterious deaths of people who pass through the forest on the outskirts of a village.The villagers have mortal fear of a thing lurking around called AMBULI.The villagers have varying beliefs and myths surrounding "Ambuli".

The directors need to be appreciated for two reasons,their attention to detail to 60s period and the effort taken to not provide the viewers a usual masala fare.

The costumes,art direction,visual tones/cinematography are all good and are based upon the subject.There are scenes that show that the directors might be inspired by various Hollywood flicks like The Blair Witch project,Jeepers Creepers and The Village(directed by Manoj Shyamalan).

The film does not have right cinematic elements to thrill the audience.That is disappointing considering the fact the promos promised a great Hollywood style thriller.

The acting of the lead actors is uniformly average.Actors Parthiban and Jegan manage to stand out with their acting skills.Other seasoned artists like Uma Riyaz,Thambi Ramaih and Bala Singh are wasted in their roles.The villain of this film does not provide any scope for horror.

The makers try too hard to entertain by amateurish comedy.It does offer little respite.

The background music is good and the BGM in the climax sequences appear to be inspired by the music in Predator.The college farewell song is OK.Other songs appear forced into the narration.The picturisation of songs are either awful or average.

Some scientific aspects are thrown in but they do not seem to be completely convincing.The 3D effect is a gimmick!!They could have easily shot in 2D itself.

On a positive note,one would say that the first 20 minutes and last half an hour do manage to grab your attention.

Sci-fi/horror dud

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 27 June 2018]

AMBULI is a sci-fi/horror outing from India, made in the Tamil language and on an obviously low budget. It was apparently made as a 3D picture but the quality of the visuals on the version I watched was quite poor so I can't imagine it being much good in three dimensions. The story is a long-winded chore about an island inhabited by a mysterious and deadly creature. Interesting enough, except it transpires that said creature is merely a guy in an ape suit who looks like he belongs in a '50s B-movie such as THE SNOW CREATURE. Cheesy it may be, but even this laughable content is short-lived in favour of endless family melodrama and boring song and dance routines which certainly test the viewer's patience.

A amazing thriller film

[vikneshsiga · 10/10 · 30 December 2012]

I did not see Ambuli in 3d.i stay in Singapore so they did not show it in 3d but I saw it in sun TV. It was scary in television. I imagine how much thrilling it would be in cinema. It was amazing. The part I liked the most is where Ambuli reveals itself. The make-up designers really made it scary for the audience. In 3d, it will be more scary. The last fighting sequence was sweet. The songs were average but the sound effects were groundbreaking. When Ambuli is coming, I can feel my spine is frozen. The sound effects supervisor did a amazing job. Parthiban also acted very well as Sengodan. At first, I suspected Parthiban to act like Ambuli until I saw Ambuli's real face. The scariest moment was when Ambuli reveals itself. I was never been scared until I saw Ambuli. Good job done by the make-up designers.the final showdown between Sengodan and Ambuli was amazing and sweet. I wish Ambuli come back for its second hunt in 3d

flop

[njames996 · 3/10 · 21 May 2012]

Ambuli (Tamil: அம்புலி) is a 2012 Tamil science-fiction thriller film directed by Hari Shankar and Hareesh Narayan, who earlier directed Orr Eravuu (2010). The film was made in stereoscopic format, making it the first 3-D film in Tamil cinema.

Times of India rated the movie 3.5/5 [8] and Behindwoods rated Ambuli 3/5 calling it between 'not bad' and 'good'

but when copared to a budget of 19.60 crores its worthless

Hari Shankar and Hareesh Narayan, who made their directorial debut with the horror film Orr Eravuu (2010), decided to shoot a mystery thriller based on folklore and superstition. In an interview they stated: "We have taken inspirations from folklore and Ambuli tells the story of a village which is soaked in superstitions. Ambuli means 'moon' and it is a moon light mystery".[2] The film was promoted as being the "first ever-stereoscopic 3D film in Tamil cinema".[3][4] The directors further disclosed that the plot revolved around "four youngsters who go in search of a story, the problems they face and how they overcome them", while clarifying that there was no villain in the film.[5] Newcomers R. Ajai, P. S. Srijith, Sanam and Jothisha Ammu were signed on to enact the lead roles,[6] while Gokulnath, best known from the reality-based dance competition Maanada Mayilada was selected to play the titular character. The filming began on 4 February 2011.[7] Vanessa Taylor, who has previously worked in Hollywood films including Harry Potter, worked as a DI Colorist in the film.

Ambuli - New Beginning of Future Tamil Movies

[gpmforever · 9/10 · 22 February 2012]

Just Before watched the movie in Sathyam Theater (Chennai). A very Good Attempt. Very interesting story flow is the Big plus of this movie. Songs are very Big minus of this movie. 3D is another plus. But comparing to the Hollywood standard, watching movie experience is pain full. Too much of 3D effects. Lot of powerful lights very near to our eye. Too much of fast moving objects very near to our eye. So it results headache and pain for me. i don't know these kind of movies needs any health measure before releasing the movies. Anyway,This is first attempt in Tamil cinema. Only negatives are songs and too much of "near to eye 3D effects". Other than this everything is OK for me.

My Final Verdict : Two thumps up. Please encourage this movie. Then only more standard movies will come after this.

My rating : 9/10

New Era of 3D movies in Tamil Cinema

[servophbabu · 10/10 · 18 February 2012]

Ambuli is an Excellent low budget movie (but going to be a block buster).

I have seen Avatar, Kungfu panda, Piranha, Adventures of Tin Tin and couple of movies in Stereo scope 3D in Chennai-India. Ambuli gave me a wonderful surprising depth in Stereo scope 3D. This is amazing that it came better than any of the mentioned English movies.

The Plot is very thriller, the way the story of Ambuli narrated is a perfect puzzle solving screenplay. There only one big star Parthiban is acted in this movie, others are not more familiar, but its perfect.

The movie could have skipped the songs, especially the final climax song (that's boring). But its not going to affect the movie anyway.

Overall I gave 10 for a Perfect and first 3D stereo movie in Tamil Film industry.

worth watching..Give it a try

[b-mohan1989 · 8/10 · 20 February 2012]

I saw Ambuli yesterday and Definitely I would recommend this movie to anyone.

This movie has its own elements which is a major plus point for this Movie. The storyline is something new to Tamil/Indian cinema(I don't want to discuss the story here).

Being it first digital 3D in Tamil, It has some far better Technical things in the movie. The very first 10 mins of the movie is very well made and the 3D effect is awesome. Screen play and Music are coping with genre of the movie. Photography is perfect(You can feel it especially in corn field's night scenes).

Special kudos to Art direction team. Excellent designing in corn fields,Village setup, Collage lab and library.

Star cast has done justification to their roles. Right from new faces to parthiban all are acted well.

First duet between lead stars is enjoyable but remaining songs are not that much impressive. unwanted songs placements(farewell and library songs) and romance scenes could have been avoided.

Overall, Its a brilliantly made adventurous thriller in a small budget.

Pros:Good 3D effects and Technical excellency Cons:unwanted songs

I would give it 8/10 for this movie.