Dinesh Kamath's column on film 'Aiyyaa' that was published in Newsband

Aiyyaa is an upcoming rom-com Hindi film written and directed by Sachin Kundalkar. The film is jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18. The film stars Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj in the lead roles. This film is the debut Bollywood film of Malayalam actor Prithviraj. The film has cinematography by Amalendu Choudhary and editing is done by Abhijeet Deshpande.

The film has an interesting plot. The story is about a Marathi girl Meenakshi Deshpande (Rani Mukerji) falling in love with a Tamil artist Surya (Prithviraj). It is a quirky and funny love story with the backdrop of a Marathi-Tamil cultural clash. The lead female protagonist woos the stranger she desires as he smells good.

The film has Rani Mukerji as Meenakshi Deshpande, Prithviraj as Surya, Subodh Bhave as Madhav Rajadhyaksha, Nirmiti Sawant as Meenakshi's mother, Satish Alekar as Meenakshi's father, Jyoti Subhash as Meenakshi's grandmother, Amey Wagh as Meenakshi's brother, Anita Date as Meenakshi's friend and Pakada Pandi.

The lyrics of the film is written by Amitabh Bhattacharya and music composed by Amit Trivedi. The film has songs like Dreamum Wakeuppam sung by Sowmya Raoh, Sava Dollar (Lavani) by Sunidhi Chauhan, Aga Bai by Shalmali Kholgade, Monali Thakur, Mahek Bhi by Shreya Ghoshal, What To Do by Sneha Khanwalkar, Amitabh Bhattacharya and Wakda by Amit Trivedi.

The soundtrack has received positive reviews on release. Music Aloud's review rated it 8/10. Musicperk.com rated the album 8/10 quoting Aga Bhai, Mahek Bhi, What To Do and Dreamum Wakeupum are the picks of the album. Shresht Poddar, of Score Magazine, gave the album 3 out of 5 stars saying, "Melody-wise, the album is just above average. Innovation-wise, it scores full marks from me. Amit Trivedi dares to be experimental when his contemporaries are staying safe by sticking to tried-and-tested methods.". Suhail Mir of Gomolo gave the soundtrack 4 out of 5 stars mentioning, Aiyyaa is a truimphant album all the way. It dares to be quality entertainer with experimental tracks that are promising. Amit Trivedi shows his real class with Aiyyaa, a mix of styles, tastes and generes. An intelligently packaged complication." Rumnique Nannar said "Aiyyaa is one of the most spirited and hilarious albums in such a long time that lives up to its trailer and wacky style. Each of the songs has something to celebrate and enjoy, and it is often so rare to hear an album so joyous and downright fun." and gave 4 on 5.

I’ll pass on to you more information about Aiyyaa. Once upon a time, Rani Mukherji was among the top heroines of the Hindi film industry. It was the failure of movie Laaga Chunari Mein Daag that led to her downfall. She did appear in films such as Saawariya and Dil Bole Hadippa but they could not help her regain her past position. No One Killed Jessica did give some boost to her acting career but that was not enough. So now it is left to be seen whether the film Aiyyaa can do the magic for Rani Mukherjee. This time she is playing a character which suits her age and image. She portrays a Marathi girl Meenakshi Deshpande who falls in love with a Tamil guy Surya (Prithviraj Sukumaran). The reason why Meenakshi falls in love with Surya is strange; apparently it happens because Surya smells good. Things become complicated due to the cultural clashes between the two lovers’ families. However, Meenakshi is determined to overcome the barrier to find her love.

Aiyyaa marks the debut of Southern actor Prithviraj into Hindi films.

The promos of the film have generated a good buzz and two songs Dreamum wakeupam and Aga bai are getting played on music channels, but the real test will happen after the release.

Nowadays the audiences accept films which have good story. Hence they will accept Aiyyaa only if they get to like its story.

Thus the movie shows a young Maharashtrian woman being subjected to the rigours of an Indian arranged marriage and her voice about dark men being her idea of Mr Right is almost lost in the chaos that erupts when her matchmaking parents line-up a string of potential grooms for her to choose from. Also this North-South love story is going to change the way South Indians are perceived. In this film, Surya is that quintessential tall, dark and handsome guy, which novelists and storytellers normally talk about. In this film, everything about a South Indian — their culture, their skin colour and their lifestyle is presented as good and sexy.

For once the joke is not on South Indians but on the system of arranged marriages in India.

Thus the film Aiyyaa revolves around marriage. Directed by National Award winning director Sachin Kundalkar, it depicts Rani in a totally different light. It talks about Maharashtrian girl falling in love with Tamilian boy. The audiences are not used to this kind of cinema. The filmmaking style that Sachin has adapted is very different to what our Hindi audience is used to watching.

This is a kind of movie to which young girls older women too will relate. The film talks about the Indian girls in general. Every girl wants to be independent and make her choice in terms of a life partner. Unfortunately, some girls don't have the liberty to make that choice because they are burdened with the thought that this is what they have to follow.

Hence not only young girls, but mothers and grandmothers, who have been through this situation in their lives, will relate to Rani’s character in the film.

After actors like Katrina Kaif, Vidya Balan and Chitrangada Singh, Rani has done a sensuous Lavani number in the film. Rani has indeed done an authentic Lavani.

Thus Aiyya is an interesting film. Do watch it when it gets released on 12 October 2012.