Anbirkiniyal is a survival thriller directed by Gokul. It is the official Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Helen, that had Anna Ben essaying the lead role. This film has Keerthi Pandian playing the lead role while Arun Pandian, Praveen Raja and others play crucial supporting roles. The film is produced by Arun Pandian under the banner A&P Groups.

Anbirkiniyal is almost a frame by frame remake of Helen, and hence the story remains unchanged. Keerthi Pandian plays the role of Anbirkiniyal, who is all set to realise her dream of becoming a nurse in Canada so that she can repay her father's loan. She works part-time in a fastfood restaurant while simultaneously preparing for her IELTS exam. Things take a wild turn when she gets trapped inside the freezer room of the restaurant, while everyone else leaves. How she manages to escape, forms the plot.

True to her name, Anbirkiniyal is a girl who spreads a lot of joy and positivity through her actions. She compliments a woman who cleans up trash on the roads. She is the only one who smiles at the watchman in the mall she works in. She cares so much about the grandmother in her neighbour's house, and the list goes on. Keerthi Pandian too gives her heart and soul to accomplish what Anna Ben did in the original. Her chemistry with Sivam (played by Keerthi's real life dad Arun Pandian) looks beautiful and has a lot of heart.

However the film's biggest hero is the writing by Alfred Kurian Joseph, Noble Babu Thomas and Mathukutty Xavier. It is extremely detailed, with not even one scene written for the sake of it. Every dialogue uttered, every character or object that appears on screen has a pay-off later in the film. For example, when Anbu wants Sivam to quit smoking, she takes away his pack of cigarettes and lighter, and keeps it in her bag. In what seems like a throwaway moment, the lighter re-appears to give her momentary relief inside the freezer room.

The film's drawbacks come in the form of the make-up and a few performances. When Anbu is trapped inside the freezer room, the temperature keeps going down, so does her body condition. Keerthi Pandian's make-up during those portions reduces the authenticity of the scenes. It looks overdone and immediately creates a disconnect between the film and the audience. Among the performances, Arun Pandian's acting looks rusty, and more effort could have gone into his acting.

Technically, Javed Riaz's background score offers what the film exactly needs. Mahesh Muthuswami cleverly uses closeups and extreme closeups to create a feeling of helplessness during Keethi Pandian's portions. His work on the camera is excellent.

As a director, this is Gokul's neatest film till date. He is known for his sense of humour and that crops up at random places. But almost each comedy attempted here makes you chuckle, which works in the film's favour. The comedy doesn't hinder the pace unlike his previous film Junga. 

As a remake, Anbirkiniyal stays faithful to the original, at the same time the minor changes made to suit the Tamil audience doesn't disturb the original. The ones who have watched Helen will find this slightly underwhelming, mainly because of the quality of the original. But if you're watching this for the first time, there is a high chance that Anbirkiniyal will work for you.