Aelay is director Halitha Shameem's next after Sillu Karupatti. The film has Samuthirakani and Manikandan in the lead roles while Madhumathi and Kailashnath play crucial supporting roles among others. The songs are composed by Kaber Vasuki, Aruldev has scored the background music and the cinematography is handled by Theni Easwar.

The film opens with Parthi (Manikandan) arriving at his village after hearing the news of his father Muthukutty's (Samuthirakani) demise. As the people around him wail and cry their hearts out, he is reminded of the memories with him and their strained relationship. All of a sudden, the dead body goes missing, and what happens next forms the rest of the story.

Usually, when death is a part of a story, we expect a lot of melodrama but here, director Halitha Shameem surprises us all with some solid dark comedy without being insensitive. It's not like that the story lacks drama. The screenplay is cleverly written in a way that it constantly switches between humour and drama.

Post the interval, the film turns into a whodunit thriller and those portions are engaging as well. This makes us wonder if there's something Halitha cannot do because Aelay cannot be fit into one genre, yet does justice to everything it touches. While she filled our soul with wholesomeness in Sillu Karupatti, she manages to give us the same feeling in parts here.

Manikandan as Parthi, Samuthirakani as Muthukutty and Kailash as the younger version of Parthi have delivered brilliant performances and that ends up as a big strength for Aelay. The other supporting cast too plays their roles to perfection. Another reason why the director must be appreciated is for utilising Samuthirakani in this way and also giving us a different shade of him every time.

In Sillu Karupatti, we saw Samuthirakani as a vulnerable man. Here, he plays an innocent, yet naughty old man with consummate ease, making us yearn for more such roles. His chemistry with Manikandan is beautiful and realistic. The film's minor issues start with the romantic portions in the first half. They look a tad overstretched.

On the technical front, Aruldev's background score is whacky and rooted at the same time while Kaber Vasuki's songs fit the narrative so well. It's indeed a surprise album from Kaber who has not yet explored the folk genre much in his independent music. The surprise doesn't come from Kaber trying it, but it comes from how well he has pulled this off. Theni Easwar weaves magic with his visuals, reminding us of his work in films like Peranbu. Only someone who has understood the script thoroughly can come up with such brilliant work.

The film could have been a bit short because there were a lot of places where it could have ended and yet be convincing. That alone could make the viewer slightly impatient. Other than that, with some solid writing and control over the craft, Halitha Shameem hasn't just made a film. She makes a statement, a strong one, that she's here to stay.

[Review based on a special preview show to the press on February 25. Catch the film on its TV premiere on February 28]