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Bala’s films are known for their realistic and emphatic portrayal of an environment which is not so familiar to Tamil films. Avan Ivan too shows a world which most of us would not be aware of. He sets his story in the backdrop of a small rural area which is the homeland of thieves. The lifestyle of the thieves is portrayed well with all its colour but Bala has failed to come out with a solid story and a coherent screenplay.

Walter (Vishal) and Kumbudren Saamy (Aarya) are half brothers who are always fighting with each other. But they also have subtle and strong warmth for each other. While Saamy is a clever thief, Walter is naïve in his profession but he is a very good actor who can stun everyone by his performance. He is longing for some recognition but his circle doesn’t bother about his artistic abilities.

They have a common patron and a close friend in form of Highness, an erstwhile Zameendhar (GM Kumar), who rescues them from all kinds of troubles. They, in turn, are very loyal to Highness and are ready to go to any extent to help him.

Meanwhile Walter and Saamy meet police constable Baby (Janani Iyer) and a college girl Thenmozhi (Madhu Shalini) respectively. Predictably they fall in love and the girls too reciprocate the same.

The routine life of the area is shacked by an incident when Highness exposes a cattle smuggler and puts him behind the bar. The smuggler takes gruesome revenge and the brothers get enraged. The climax tells you the predictable end to the smuggler. You also get to see how Walter gets recognized for his artistic traits thanks to the visit of actor Surya to their area.

Bala, known for his humourous touch within the framework of his serious stories, has opted for full fledged comical treatment. The movie makes us laugh from the word go with Vishal’s dancing in the disguise of a woman. The fighting between the mothers of Walter and Saamy, the activities of the police, and the lifestyle of Highness provide ample scope for laughter. However, this approach turns out to be a gimmicks as the incidents are loosely packed without any coherent meaning or purpose. The director takes too many scenes to give us the feel of the locality and hence the story fails to take off and it proves to be inadequate when it finally takes off.

Reality in a movie does not exist in not only capturing the raw feelings and language of the fringe group of the society. It is about making their lives come alive with a strong story and a coherent script. Bala has given us some glimpses of the lives of his characters but he has failed to make any impact as he does it without a proper premise or purpose. The ‘love’ affairs are poorly etched and hence they are hard to digest.

The major plus point of the movie is Vishal’s performance. His character is a squint-eyed person and an artiste par excellence. He is longing for recognition in an art which others care a damn. He has portrayed the feelings very well while his body language as someone who has some of the qualities of a woman is outstanding. He also scores in emotional sequences when he feels for his beloved Highness. The scene, where he exhibits nine different kinds of emotions (Navarasa), is marvelous. It is once-in-a-lifetime performance.

Aarya doesn’t get a meaty role when compared with that of Vishal’s but he has done his part well and has considerably contributed to the entertaining part with his awesome dialogue delivery and emotions. G.M. Kumar has portrayed the character with conviction. His naked appearance and his brutal death are hard to forget thanks to Bala’s handling of these sequences.

Janani Iyer and Madhu Shalini have little to perform. Veteran actor Ambika is quite impressive in a heavy role.

Arthur Wilson’s cinematography and Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music add value to the movie. S. Ramakrishnan’s dialogues are sharp and humourous.

Bala has attempted to provide us with a film that has comical elements as its major strength. He has gone overboard and failed to present it with coherent script. As a result the movie turns out to be a disappointing experience despite having stunning performances.