Aarohanam
Poster
Directed by	Lakshmy Ramakrishnan
Screenplay by	Lakshmy Ramakrishnan
Story by	Lakshmy Ramakrishnan
Produced by	A. V. Anoop
Starring	Viji Chandrasekhar G. Marimuthu Uma Rajie Vijay Sarathy Jayaprakash Sampath Raj
Cinematography	N. Shanmugasundaram
Edited by	Kishore Te.
Music by	K
Production companies	AVA Productions Monkey Creative Labs
Distributed by	JSK Film Corporation
Release date	26 October 2012 (2012-10-26)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Aarohanam (transl. Crescendo) is a 2012 Tamil-language drama film directed by actress-turned-directorLakshmy Ramakrishnan. It stars Viji Chandrasekhar,G. Marimuthu,Uma, Rajie Vijay Sarathy,Jayaprakash, andSampath Raj. According to the director, the film revolves around a missing mother, who suffers frombipolar disorder. The film received mostly positive reviews, with some critics calling it the best Tamil film of the year.^[1][2]

In early February 2012, reports claimed that character actressLakshmy Ramakrishnan would direct her maiden feature film,^[3] although Lakshmy had begun filming in December 2011 already.^[4] Titled asAarohanam, it was said to be based on a "series of amusing events that take place on a single day"; the film would follow a 17-year-old boy and his sister who are in search of their missing mother, played by television artiste and actressSaritha's sister, Viji Chandrasekhar. Lakshmy along with her friends, actressesUma Padmanabhan and Rajie Vijay Sarathy, initially wanted to make a "desiHangover kind of a film" about spirited women.^[5] When developing the third character in the film, she realized that she had penned a story about that person in 2008 already. She reworked the script and made that character the lead, while also deciding to co-produce the film.^[5] Lakshmy said that she had written 45 versions of the screenplay forAarohanam.^[6] She further stated that the film was initially started with the intention to screen it at film festivals only, but that eventually it turned into a "commercial" film.^[3]

Character actors Jayaprakash does a cameo andSampath Raj and directorG. Marimuthu were selected to essay pivotal supporting roles,^[7] while newcomers Veeresh and Jai Quehaeni would play the missing mother's son and daughter, respectively. Veeresh was then studying editing in his final year at the MGR Film Institute, Taramani and got the opportunity when he approached director Lakshmy to join her as an assistant director. The entire film was shot with aCanon EOS 5D digital camera; it was completed in 20 days.^[5]

K, who had previously worked onMysskin'sYuddham Sei, in which Lakshmy Ramakrishnan played a notable supporting role, was signed on to produce the film's score and soundtrack. The soundtrack album ofAarohanam consists of six tracks, with three of them beinginstrumentals. The lyrics were penned by newcomer Subbu. The song "Indha Vaan Veli" was released as asingle track to coincide with Mother's day 2012.^[8] The entire album was launched on 19 June 2012 atPrasad Studios in Chennai;^[9] directorsK. Balachander and K. S. Sethumadhavan released the audio.^[10] "Thappattam", a club number, was sung by Lakshmy's daughter Sharadha along with the composer.^[11]

The satellite rights of the film were sold toSun TV.^[12]

Aarohanam opened to mostly positive reviews from critics. Vivek Ramz from "in.com" gave the film 4.5 out of 5 and said that it's a must watch experience and added that It's a unique masterpiece of cinema and one couldn't afford to miss this film at any cost!^[13] N. Venkateswaran fromThe Times of India gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and claimed that it "could easily be the best Tamil film of the year" and that "it tackles a very important issue — mental illness — with a sensitivity that is rare to Tamil cinema, and does so without being judgmental about the main characters and their actions". The reviewer further mentioned that "a lot of recent films have had incorrect portrayals of mental illness and bipolar disorder, andAarohanam helps in dispelling the darkness among the audiences", terming it a "must see for all lovers of good cinema".^[1]Sify's critic wrote that "director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan can be proud of her maiden ventureAarohanam which slowly but beautifully unfolds and reaches its crescendo in the climax", further praising her for "making such a film with a neat message and at the same time not preachy".^[14]Rediff gave 3 out of 5 stars and noted that Lakshmy Ramakrishnan "may have made her film more like a fictionalised documentary, and stumbled at a few places, but by and large, the message she delivers is a valid one".^[15] Haricharan Pudipeddi from nowrunning.com cited: "If you missAarohanam, then you may have missed most likely the best Tamil film of the year".^[2] Indiaglitz.com claimed that a film "with such a knot needs to be welcomed for it marks a shift from the regular mainstream cinema".^[16] Baradwaj Rangan, too, lauded the film: "After a movie-going season filled with crushing big-budget disappointments, it's wonderful to watchAarohanam. The director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has a bracingly uncomplicated approach to filmmaking, where it's all about writing a solid script and etching out memorable characters and, finally, casting the right people".^[17]

On the contrary, Malini Malnath fromThe New Indian Express panned the film, callingAarohanam "at the most, a stepping stone for the filmmaker. It may serve as a valuable experience gained and a reference for how she could craft a more coherent screenplay, bringing in more clarity and focus on her narration". The critic further wrote: "The director should have done her homework before taking up such a serious issue as a concept. Both the script and treatment are amateurish".^[18] Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, in return, clarified that "enough research had been done before locking the characterisation" and that several doctors the film was shown to were "delighted with the way the disorder is portrayed".^[19]

• Aarohanam atIMDb

• 2012 films
• Films about bipolar disorder
• 2010s Tamil-language films
• 2010s Indian films
• Films scored by K (composer)
• Indian drama films
• 2012 directorial debut films
• Films directed by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan
• Tamil-language Indian films

• Use dmy dates from November 2015
• Use Indian English from November 2015
• All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Template film date with 1 release date
• Articles containing Tamil-language text
• Articles with hAudio microformats
• Album articles lacking alt text for covers