* The first half-hour of the film. It might be slightly in the style of a documentary but the camera-work, the SFX and the maker's obvious love of history transport you back 1600 years into the past, to the reigning Pallava dynasty, and to the surroundings of Kanchi, to a land that is at the height of both martial and medical prowess. It's here that you're introduced to Bhodhi Dharmar (Suriya), a Pallava Prince who leaves his family behind and journeys to China. His travel across the lands, and the way he slowly assimilates the life of an ascetic, casting away his princely robes is a revelation. It takes him three years to reach China -- where a completely different life awaits him.
* The present-day avatar of Suriya as Aravind, a circus artist who travels with the Grand Bombay Circus, and who hails, incidentally, from Kanchipuram himself. He's playful, hopelessly in love, but is more an involuntary pawn in the high-profile international age than a hero. It's supposed to be a Suriya film -- but doesn't really revolve around him, and so, you don't get to see him go all out acting, either. He does flex his muscles a good deal, so much that you wonder if he's turning into the Tamil version of Salman Khan
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