MEYAADHA MAAN (2017)

Critic - No.135

Director: Rathna Kumar
Casts: Vaibhav, Priya, Vivek Prasanna, Indhuja
Music: Santosh Narayanan & Pradeep
Language: Tamil
Genre: Comedy / Musical / Romance

PLOT:
Idhayam Murali (Vaibhav) loves Madhu (Priya) but he is too scared to convey his feelings. When Priya gets engaged, Murali attempts to commit suicide but is dissuaded by a big lie said by his friend Vinoth (Vivek Prasanna) that sets a whole chain of effects.  

REVIEW:
‘Meyaadha Maan’ is derived from the film maker’s own short film, ‘Madhu (2014)’ that was featured in the anthropology, Bench Talkies (2015) that was also produced by Karthick Subburaj. While the source film was based on the phone conversation that features as the first scene of this film, the director uses it as a catalyst and builds a thoroughly engaging screenplay that doesn’t really bore you at any instances. Even though the film runs about 2 and half hours, the length can’t be felt. 

The main strength of the film are the realistic and honest characters that speak their hearts out. The film is very dialogue heavy and spins around well written situational, slice of life comedy. Even though it doesn’t provide anything new in terms of plot, it highlights the North Madras lifestyle very realistically with the aid of the striking cinematography. The seamless message about the reason why a guy hesitates to convey his love for long looks fresh and laudable. More than just an entertainer, the film’s occasional attempts to bring out interesting points about one-sided love is commendable.  

With 7 songs, ‘Meyaadha Maan’, is supported strongly with some catchy numbers that further brings out the culture of the residents of the deep North Madras. None of them feels like a speed breaker. The sound treatment reminds us of the rawness of ‘Attakathi (2012)’ but in a more commercial twist. Some of evergreen 80s Ilayaraja classics are used at times to highlight the emotional graph of the story as the protagonist is a stage singer. 

After donning a few interesting roles, Vaibhav seems to be the most confident here with the director utilizing the versatility the actor has. His measured emotions and dialogue delivery is the biggest plus of the film. Definitely, ‘Idhayam’ Murali is best role in his career thus far. Vivek Prasanna, who has done many negative roles, takes up the same character as he did in the short film as well. He shares equal screen time with Vaibhav and proves that he is one of the most promising supporting actor around. Indhuja as Vaibhav’s sister has ample of acting scope and her spontaneity is excellent. Her dancing prowess in 'Thangachi Song' is impressive. Vijay TV fame Priya looks beautiful and does a decent job in her feature film debut. Every main character are fully utilized to propel the engaging screenplay.

On the flip-side, the rift in their love look a little contrived and Madhu’s feelings towards Murali can be a little perplexing. The typical stock characters of Madhu’s parents also work against the new-age treatment the film possesses. 

VERDICT: 
Taking a tried and tested formula of one sided love, director Rathna Kumar revamps it with witty dialogues, raw emotions and colourful music, whipping up one of the most engaging film of the year. 

CELLULOID METER- 3.75/5: