The film began pre-production in early 2003 in a typical manner adapted by the director, Mani Ratnam, who keeps his projects under wraps until completion.[3] The director chose to make two different versions of the film as he did not want the film to be dubbed, explaining that the essence of the script would be lost if they had done so.[4] The project was named Aayitha Ezhuthu after the last letter of the Tamil alphabet,[3] which is denoted by three dots in a triangle and the director revealed that the film was about three individuals.[3] Early reports indicated that the film would be based on the 2000 neorealist Mexican film, Amores perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu, but eventually only the idea of hyperlink cinema was common in both films.[5][6] However, Mani Ratnam revealed that the film was closer to Akira Kurosawa's 1950 Japanese film Rashomon as both films dealt with a cause-effect and a third-view called Rashomon effect.[3]
Aayutha Ezuthu received positive reviews. Indiaglitz wrote: "Worth watching".[25] Nowrunning rated the film 4 out of 5.[26] Sify wrote: "Aayitha Ezhuthu is a bold and daring move by Mani Ratnam to change the staid style of our commercial cinema".[27] The Hindu wrote: "Every frame of Madras Talkies' "Aayudha Ezhuthu" bears the Mani Ratnam stamp and that's what matters. If silence and secrecy can stoke up interest, it has. And again, if the stature of a director can hype up a project, it has".[28] Visual Dasan of Kalki wrote that the usual exuberance that permeates Mani Ratnam's films is also present in Ayudha Ezhuthu but there is no intensity in the flood; only the murmur of the stream.[29]
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