NOTE: Since Aegan is obviously inspired by Main Hoon Na, I will make certain references to the latter and comparisons in the vastly different qualities of both movies. So, there might be some minor spoilers when these comparisons are made, not that it matters anyway.

Ajith is on a comeback run after a few years when all his movies were quite average really. After the blockbuster success of last year’s Billa, he has decided to put his trust on new director Raju Sundaram to keep his box office run going. Aegan borrows the basic script of a cop going undercover as a student from the Hindi Shah Rukh Khan starrer Main Hoon Na and provides Ajith ample scope for comedy and action and he doesn’t disappoint. However, Ajith’s casting is about the only thing that Aegan gets right and almost everything else about the movie is below-average at best and it is not quite the diwali entertainment that was promised.

John Chinnappa (Suman) is a dreaded criminal who is wanted by the police on a number of crimes. Ram Prasad (Devan) is his right-hand man and best friend and knows everything about John. Ram Prasad decides to split with John after the latter chooses to put the lives of innocent people in danger and surrenders to the police and becomes an approver. However, when the police are escorting Ram to the court, their convoy is attacked and Ram runs on the loose fearing for his life. A short introduction about Shiva (Ajith) follows showing his ruthless streak in dispatching criminals. Shiva is then sent undercover as a student to St John’s College where Ram Prasad’s daughter Pooja (Piaa) is studying in order to protect her as well as keep tabs on Ram if he comes to visit her.

Once undercover Shiva finds it difficult to overcome his gruff exterior and befriend Pooja and her boyfriend Narain (Navadeep). He also falls for new chemistry teacher Mallika (Nayanthara) and tries to woo her. Giving him company inside the college are the principal (Jayaram), the peon (Sathyan) and his police aide (V.M.C. Haneefa). How he tracks Ram Prasad and brings John Chinnappa to justice forms the rest of the story. Oh and did I mention that there is a side track featuring Shiva’s attempt to reunite his father (Nasser) and his separated wife (Suhasini).

What Main Hoon Na did was merge all the above elements into a wonderful whole that provided great entertainment with lots of comedy, over-the-top action and just the slightest amount of sentiment to keep the proceedings interesting. Aegan delivers only in the comedy aspect. The scenes inside the campus with Ajith trying to blend into his new surroundings and get into Piaa’s good books to keep an easy eye on her and his wooing of Nayanthara are certainly funny with Ajith proving to have wonderful timing. Even though these sequences are directly inspired by Main Hoon Na with the funny principal trying to do his best to assist the undercover cop in his mission and Ajith going into dream mode every time Nayanthara passes by, they are still funny nonetheless and certain dialogues and scenes are sure to please Ajith fans.

One of the main aspects in which Aegan doesn't deliver is with its villain. Sunil Shetty’s solid performance provided a cool and chilling villain in Main Hoon Na. Suman’s John Chinnappa is a bit of a caricature in comparison. The role has been made into a one-dimensional regular Tamil villain with unwanted comedy inserted and it is probably single-handedly responsible for bringing down the overall quality of the movie. Sriman as Suman’s right hand man does not do the movie any favors and is another big minus.

Raju Sundaram also fails miserably in tying all the loose ends up in the climax. In Main Hoon Na, the track involving Shahrukh’s quest to make his half-brother and stepmother understand his father was integrated neatly with the main storyline and added some nice sentiments to the mix. In Aegan, the track has been brought very late on in the movie and it is absolutely unnecessary and only the director can explain his decision in bringing such an angle to the movie. The story and screenplay falters horribly in the final twenty minutes of the movie and as a result, everything built up during the college sequences are wasted.

As I stated in the beginning, Ajith’s casting is spot on for the role. There are some obvious references to his past movies and usage of the world “thala” during apt sequences is intended solely to please his fans. Ajith gets to enjoy himself after a long time and his scenes with Jayaram and Haneefa are a lot of fun. Nayanthara certainly doesn’t dress like she is a college professor but looks quite hot really and that is all is required of her. Navadeep looks like he has not improved his acting from Arindhum Ariyaamalum and is not stressed too much. Piaa manages to impress as the girl who is not too fond of her father’s profession. Nasser and Suhasini are wasted in miniscule roles. Jayaram, Haneefa and Sathyan all produce decent performances to maintain the light tone of the movie throughout.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is quite average really but the Aegan background score accompanying Ajith’s entry and fight sequences is good thankfully. Ajith has managed to improve his dance skills greatly and it is evident in Hey Saala… and Odum Varaiyil… both of which provide him with some fast movements and he doesn’t falter at all. Raju Sundaram has unsuccessfully tried to capture the group dance spirit of the initial college song from Main Hoon Na in Yahoo.... The stunt sequences are quite underwhelming and the climax fight especially contains some grainy shots which I am not sure Raju Sundaram intended to signify style but they are not good-looking in all honesty.