# Aaru (ஆறு) (film)
**Aaru** (ஆறு) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Hari, starring Suriya as Aarumugam, a street-smart henchman who turns on his gang-lord mentor after being betrayed.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aaru) Trisha Krishnan, Vadivelu, and [Ashish Vidyarthi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashish-vidyarthi) play the other principal roles, and [Devi Sri Prasad](https://www.edgepedia.org/devi-sri-prasad) composed the music.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) • [3](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html) The film was produced by Saran and released in India on 9 December 2005 with an adults-only (A) certificate from the Indian Censor Board because of its violence.[3](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html) • [4](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News39/07-12-05/tamil-movies-news-aaru.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | ஆறு (Aaru)[5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/aaru) |
| Release | 9 December 2005 (India); 168 minutes (2h 48m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) |
| Director / producer | Hari (director and writer); Saran (producer)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) • [3](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html) |
| Lead cast | Suriya (Aarumugam), Trisha Krishnan (Mahalakshmi), Ashish Vidyarthi (Vishwanathan), Vadivelu, Kalabhavan Mani[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) • [6](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/aaru/ET00003056/) |
| Music | Devi Sri Prasad; six-song album including "Soda Bottle" and "Pakaatha"[3](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html) • [7](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-aaru/4923/story.htm) |
| Certification | A certificate in India for excessive violence; NC16 in Singapore, later re-rated PG after cuts[4](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News39/07-12-05/tamil-movies-news-aaru.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) |
| Audience ratings | IMDb 5.9/10 (about 2.1K votes, unweighted mean 6.8); Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter 42% from 100+ ratings[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/ratings/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aaru) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Aaru (Aarumugam) is a henchman for Viswanathan (Ashish Vidyarthi), a gang lord who runs a real estate business. Aaru becomes his right-hand man and carries out his bidding, legal and illegal. When Viswanathan betrays him, Aaru swears to destroy him.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aaru) The Idlebrain synopsis gives the mechanism of the betrayal: Viswanath asks Aaru to arrange five men for a staged suicide protest against a political event, then makes sure they are assassinated, and summons another don, Adi (Jaya Prakash Reddy), to kill Aaru.[3](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html) Trisha Krishnan plays Mahalakshmi, Aaru's love interest.[6](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/aaru/ET00003056/)
## Production and certification
Aaru was the first film Suriya made under Hari's direction.[9](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2641/tamil/aaru/index.htm) Because the character is a local Chennai man, Suriya took special training in the slums for the role, while Trisha was cast as a modern city girl.[9](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2641/tamil/aaru/index.htm) Telugu actor Jayaprakash Reddy was introduced in the film as a villain.[9](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2641/tamil/aaru/index.htm)
The film was originally slated for release on 2 December 2005, but the Censor Board gave it an A certificate because of excessive violence, and the release was postponed to 9 December. The producer and director pruned some scenes and sought a U/A certificate, but the Board did not change its decision.[4](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News39/07-12-05/tamil-movies-news-aaru.html) In Singapore, the film initially received an NC16 rating for moments of stronger violence and was later passed with a PG rating after those sequences were edited.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/)
## Music
Devi Sri Prasad composed the soundtrack, an album of six songs aimed, as the Nowrunning review put it, at "Chennaities taste".[7](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-aaru/4923/story.htm) The tracks are "Soda Bottle" (an opening dappanguthu-style rap on Chennai culture written by N Muthukumar), "Pakaatha" (a romantic number fusing classical and slow melody), "Freeya Vudu", "Thottutae", "Dhurogam" (lyrics by director Hari, centered on betrayal), and "Nenjam Ennum".[7](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-aaru/4923/story.htm)
## Reception
**Critical response.** Reviews were mixed. IndiaGlitz's editorial board rated it 3.00 out of 5, saying the story was not new but the scenes had raciness and praising Suriya's "wholesome effort".[10](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/266/aaru-tamil-movie-review/review) Galatta.com gave 3.50 out of 5, calling it an out-and-out entertainer and noting that the first half drags a little while the second half makes up for it with thrills and action.[10](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/266/aaru-tamil-movie-review/review) The Idlebrain reviewer Jeevi rated it 2.5 out of 5 and called the story a routine revenge drama.[3](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html) Karan Bali's review on Upperstall, scored 31%, called the film a violent bloodbath with a hackneyed tale, while crediting Priyan's on-location camerawork in the Chennai slums and V. T. Vijayan's sharp editing for the film's pace.[11](https://upperstall.com/film/aaru/)
**Audience ratings and commercial outcome.** The film holds an IMDb rating of 5.9/10 from about 2,100 votes, with an unweighted mean of 6.8, and a 42% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes from more than 100 ratings.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/ratings/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aaru) An IMDb list of Hari's films records Aaru's verdict as "Super Hit".[12](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls082935502/) On BookMyShow, the most common user tags are #Blockbuster (35 of 46 reviews), #SuperDirection (30), and #AwesomeStory (28).[6](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/aaru/ET00003056/)
## Later versions and availability
The film's Hindi dubbed version, titled *The Return of Ghajini*, was released in 2009, and its opening credits use the song "Guzaarish" from the Hindi film *Ghajini* (2008).[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/) In India, Aaru is currently available for streaming on Sun Nxt and VI movies and tv.[5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/aaru)
## References
1. [Aaru (2005) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/)
2. [Aaru – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aaru)
3. [Aaru – Telugu cinema Review, Idlebrain (Jeevi)](https://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-aaru.html)
4. [Aaru to release only with A certificate, Behindwoods (7 December 2005)](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News39/07-12-05/tamil-movies-news-aaru.html)
5. [Aaru streaming – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/aaru)
6. [Aaru (2005) Movie – BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/aaru/ET00003056/)
7. [Music Review of Aaru, Nowrunning (22 November 2005)](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-aaru/4923/story.htm)
8. [Aaru (2005) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455309/ratings/)
9. [Aaru (2005) – Nowrunning movie page](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2641/tamil/aaru/index.htm)
10. [Aaru Tamil Movie – Critic Review, Moviecrow (aggregating IndiaGlitz and Galatta)](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/266/aaru-tamil-movie-review/review)
11. [Aaru – Upperstall.com review by Karan Bali](https://upperstall.com/film/aaru/)
12. [Hari Hits and Flops – IMDb list](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls082935502/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2000s › Tamil films of the late 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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