Genre: Thriller + Drama
Language: Tamil.
Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Platform: Netflix
Director: Sudheesh Sankar
Cast: Faahad Faasil (Dhayalan). Vadivelu (Velayudham Pillai). Vivek Prasanna (Network Ganesh). Kovai Sarala (ACP Fareeda Begum).
Plot: Dhayalan is a petty thief, always looking for scams and quick money. Released from Central jail, he immediately steals a mobile and then a motorcycle. Armed with his tools, he visits a dark bungalow. While stealing inside the dark bungalow, he comes across a man chained to a bed. The man says he has memory problems due to Alzheimer’s disease and will pay him 25,000 to just get him released from the chains. The man says he is Velayudham Pillai and wants to go to Palakkad to see his daughter. Next, he says she is at Tiruvannaamalai. Dhayalan calls up his fellow scammer Network Ganesh, and says he is onto a person with memory issues, whose multiple credit cards can be cloned and scammed. Pillai asks Dhayalan to help him and they travel by the stolen bike, whose details are already given to the police. ACP Fareeda Begum is meanwhile sure that three murders, though seemingly unconnected, are connected, as the victims received a call from the mobile with the same IMEI number and the killer is travelling across Tamil Nadu through rural roads.….
A road movie. A buddy movie. A thriller. A Suspense movie.What is Maareesan? And WHO is Maareesan?
As most of us know from our Hindu mythology, Maarechan was the demon who came in the guise of a golden deer to lure Lakshman away, from guarding Seetha, so that Ravan could kidnap Seetha. A form and shape shifter. Who diverted the attention of Lakshman totally.Seen from this angle, the title is perfect.
Since halfway through the film, we see Pillai turn from a person with dementia, into something else, there is really speaking no “spoiler alert”. This film is all about some great writing and directing that keeps us perplexed and finally stunned. Dhayalan is convinced that he had got the perfect mark – a man who cannot seemingly remember anything while the man repeatedly demonstrates to us, the audience, that he has got more than an adequate memory.
The flashback scenes in the last half hour somehow take the punch away from the overall story arc. Yet, it explains everything that happened from the first scene. So, who is the victim and who is the player? Did Dhayalan play Pillai or is it the other way around?
See it to understand it. (To say more will be total CRIMINAL on my part).
One of the few recent full-length movies that I saw it one go, without checking my WhatsApp or incoming mails on my mobile.
The film would not be what it is, if it had not been for the stunningly good performances. Faahad Faasil is always known for getting under the skin of the character and here he comes across as a petty criminal who is a bit of an idiot. It is however Vadivelu who stuns as the Alzheimer’s stricken man. Since he is playing against his regular type as the LOUD comedian, we are stunned to see such a subtle performance. This also shows how decent actors quickly get stereotyped by the industry in regular “easy to access” roles. The film belongs more to Vadivelu than Faasil – yet the duo does great stuff together. Forget the songs that come as an interruption; the script and the story more than make up for it. The stunning photography of the rural locales also adds to the overall effect of the film.
Story – 4 out of 5
Script – 5 out of 5
Direction – 4 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 4.3 out of 5
Watched the movie last week. Loved the idea and the performances. Just felt the ending could have been crisper. Nice review and good analysis. It’s a movie that needs to be seen