Aval Appadithan surely ranks among the very best that Tamil Cinema has to offer international Cinema. The low and bleak lighting and photography being black and white and with varied angles and depth give the film a documentary style and enforces the realism behind harsh realities of life in Tamil Nadu, particularly to the woman who is always pressurized into submission and slavery under one pretext or another. The torment and torture undergone by a sensitive and caring female psyche and its distortion by male chauvinist Society into bizarre and unpredictable forms and shapes is the theme and though the acting of all including Rajinikanth as a male chauvinist and soft spoken Kamal demand appreciation, it is the acting of Sripriya which is extraordinarily brilliant...It is true that songs are out of place in such a serious, stark and sombre film but this is a small defect when juxtaposed with other merits. It is most unfortunate that neither critics nor intellectuals of Tamil Nadu or India have taken notice of this remarkable and unforgettable movie ... It is indeed a milestone in both Tamil and Indian Cinema and far ahead of its times...