Director Selva's attempt with Naan Avan Illai could well be the beginning of a new trend in Tamil cinema -- that of remaking old classics. While he replaces K Balachander on the director's seat, Jeevan has been chosen as Gemini Ganesan's counterpart in the recreation of the 1976 movie of the same title.
It is the story of a philanderer, Annamalai (Jeevan), who assumes different names and get ups and robs girls who fall for him of their money and valuables. But very soon his luck runs out and he gets caught and is taken to trial.
The victims -- Priya (Malavika), Ammu Kutty (Jyothirmayee), Radha (Keerthi Chawla) and Monika (Namitha) are then called up to give evidence. Interestingly, throughout the trial, the accused maintains his innocence, blaming the crime on someone else.
Despite several attempts (including lie detector tests) to convict him, the cops find it extremely difficult to prove him guilty of the crimes.
Jeevan contributes just enough for the role's requirement. His comfort level while playing such negative roles is evident. Though his overall performance is commendable, his dialogue delivery lacks 'punch'.
However, the scenes with the lover boy Jeevan in action are just miserable. Every aspect be it dialogues, costumes, hairdo, performance etc are victims of extreme neglect. Compared to this, Vijay Antony's music which is average at best, provides some relief.
Overall technical work is average. Suresh Ars's editing ensures a smooth flow of a story that constantly goes back and forth while cameraman Senthil Kumar gets away with the excuse of not having much to do due to the nature of the film.
Screenplay and direction by Selva is one of the positive points in the movie, as he manages to keep the viewer interested with the right twists to the plot, though the timing could have been better. The film also could have done with more comedy.
Nevertheless, with all the commercial elements, this movie is capable of striking a chord with the masses.
Rediff rating: 
