MAANAADU (2021)

Critic No. 250

Director: Venkat Prabhu

Written by: Venkat Prabhu

Produced by: V House Productions

Casts: Silambarasan, S.J.Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Y.G,Mahendran, Chandrasekar, Premji Amaren, Karunakaran, Manoj Bharathiraja, S.A.Chandrasekar

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Language: Tamil

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

SYNOPSIS: 

During a flight trip to a friend’s wedding, Abdul Khaliq (Silambarasan) soon is caught in a time loop that serves as a significant chance for him to stop a political assassination and a racial riot.

REVIEW:

After a flying start with Chennai 600028 (2007), Venkat Prabhu was touted to be an important director to change the dynamics of Tamil cinema back then. However, after a series of unique films till Mankatha (2011), he dropped in form and couldn’t manage to rise up for almost a decade. Similarly, Silambarasan also gave a series of thoroughly disappointing back to back flops for the recent years and ‘Eswaran’ that was released this year not only gave a good makeover physically but also showed signs that he is attempting to change his flavour of filmography. In short, ‘Maanaadu’ was literally a do or die film for both to keep a float in this competitive arena.

The film kicks off with Abdul Khaliq (Silambarasan), along with his friends Moorthy (Premgi) and Syed (Karunakaran), and Seethalakshmi (Kalyani Priyadarshan), a co-passenger from his flight, is fleeing from a wedding to get the bride Zarina (Anjena Kirti) married to Moorthy. Along the way to the register office, they stumble upon a plot to assassinate the chief minister Arivazhagan (S.A Chandrasekar) and Khaliq is forced to be the guy who takes the fall of the killer. The CM is killed and so is Khaliq. But then, the latter wakes up and discovers that he is back on the flight where the film originally started. He realises that he is stuck in a time loop and he has to discover the series of mysteries and the people involved in the planned assasination and racial riot.

Venkat Prabhu is on top form as a director and writer as he takes the audience to a fun filled ride that is cleverly written and laid with a near perfect execution. After giving us Khaliq's experiences in the time loop, after the interval, he turns the film into a cat-and-mouse battle of wits between him and Dhanushkodi. The plot thickens as more mysteries are revealed with each time loop, almost playing out like a good mystery book. As usual Venkat Prabhu injects his style of wit by even naming the references of Hollywood films that are based on the concept and literally says how different this case is from the films. And yes, Venkat Prabhu doesn’t want to do a Hollywood film. He injects fine masala moments in an intelligent time loop space and pushes the entertainment quotient to its full potential. I really feel that this is his best film in his career, displaying a fine balance of content and entertaintment. 

Each loop is crafted with fine details and the setup-payoffs are very well anchored in the script. Three fourths of Maanaadu is constructed around a political event involving the Chief Minister. While the film may not claim to be overtly political, it does not refuse to take a stand either. If you dig its surface deeper, it is about Islamophobia. The film is based on real events and is reconstructed to deliver a statement about today’s communal politics. Though the film also throws in some mythological reasoning and links Hinduism with Islam, thank God that it is structured more like a passing alternative take than the main cause.

Silambarasan is on top form here and his emotions are well controlled and matured. In contrast to many hero glorifying masala flicks, here we see the protagonist failing and failing with intensifying obstacles. He learns and progresses through his mistakes. With a formidable villain as an opposing force, when Khaliq finally cracks the puzzle, it is extremely satisfying to watch. SJ Suryah has given another career defining performance as an eccentric villain with a tint of comedy. Talking about comedy, unlike other recent Venkat Prabhu films, the comical moments here are very originally inserted that gels well with the scenes. Y.G.Mahendran is another show stealer in the second half and being a comedian for many years, it is very interesting to see him essaying a strong villain role. Other actors like Kalyani, Premji and Karunakaran have done a decent job as well in their small roles. I just felt that they would have shown more bond between the friends and Khaliq so that it would have created a better pay off when he tries to save their lives in an emotional scene.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s electrifying score is a sure shot ear worm and each of the character theme music will give you goosebumps.  Praveen KL who is marking his 100th chapter with Maanadu, is one of the strongest pillars of the film who cuts each loop and timeline sharply by also ensuring that the audience are not overly spoon fed. Even though we are seeing the same scene many times, every loop is cut differently without any lagging moments, almost playing out like a fun game! Stunt Silva’s adrenaline pumping action choreography makes each fight set piece thoroughly entertaining and nail biting. Though the VFX looks tacky in a few scenes, most of the technical team is in top form as well! 

VERDICT:

‘Maanaadu’ is a well written, supremely entertaining sci-fi, action thriller that serves as a perfect comeback for both director Venkat Prabhu and actor Silambarasan.

CELLULOID METER- 4/5: