Reason for expectations: It's not everyday that a Tamil movie is honored with the Grand Jury Award for the Best Film at the South Asian International Film Festival. Aaranya Kaandam walked away with that laurel last year, October 2010, when it was screened at the festival. Ever since there has been no looking back for producer SPB Charan and the crew, at least in the publicity front. 

But things back home weren't as rosy. The tight-fisted censor wanted many portions / scenes to be cut since they deemed it too violent or inappropriate for Indian audience. Finally, after many rounds of discussions and screenings, the producers and officials have reached consensus and Aaranya Kaandam is now ready for release.

Directed by debut director Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Aaranya Kaandam stars Jackie Shroff, Ravi Krishna and Sampath Raj in lead roles with another debutant Yasmin Ponnappa playing a pivotal role. Aaranya Kaandam itself depicts the gang wars in the mean streets of Chennai and is reportedly very gritty in narration and portrayal of characters.

Level of expectations: 45%

Genre: Action Thriller

Audience: Audience for Aaranya Kaandam will range from multiplex goers to movie buffs who love to watch fast-paced action thrillers. The trailers are promising as well.