Tamil cinema saw the transformation of one comedian into a serious actor this year with Viduthalai: Part 1. Vadivelu’s comeback as a serious actor under the direction of Mari Selvaraj was the main selling point of Maamannan.
My main worry was whether Vadivelu’s presence would end up working against the movie. People are accustomed to seeing him as the comedian. So there was a niggle in the back of my head that Maamannan wouldn’t work out with Vadivelu.
Mari Selvaraj put that worry to rest almost immediately.
After her free coaching institute is trashed by political elements, Leela (Keerthi Suresh) approaches Adhiveeran (Udhayanidhi Stalin), a martial arts teacher and son of the local MLA Maamannan (Vadivelu), for help. Matters escalate and he and his father come to blows with Rathnavel (Fahad Faasil), a powerful upper caste politician of the same party. How both of them try to come out on top is the story.
I usually don’t care for Udhayanidhi’s acting. When they announced him as the hero, my first thought was “You could have casted someone else for this”. After watching the movie though, I will say that he’s come a long way from “Oru Kal Oru Kannadi”. As the more aggressive son to his calm father, Udhayanidhi channels a simmering rage that works effectively for the character he’s embodying. There’s a studied
He’s not the reason to watch this movie though. It’s Vadivelu.
As the MLA from humble origins, Vadivelu carries a dignity and a vulnerability to his acting hitherto unforeseen of him. Whether it be grieving for compromising on his morals or getting pissed off at a junior politician, you forget Vadivelu the comedian ever existed. Maamannan’s transformation from a subserviant, meek politician to a confident one wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for Vadivelu’s subtle acting. It also helps that Mari provides him with some mass hero moments. The theatre was clapping and whistling when Maamannan pointed a gun at Rathnavel in an act of defiance. I’d love to see Vadivelu in more dramatic fare after this.
How could I get forget Fahad Faasil? The guy pretty much disappears into the role of the casteist politician who will do anything to maintain the status quo. The mannerisms, the dialogues, the looks. Fahad cooks every part of his role to perfection. Just like Adhiveeran, Rathnavel too harbors anger, but for different reasons altogether. This movie wouldn’t have worked as well as it did if Fahad hadn’t pulled off a monster performance.
Oh, Keerthy Suresh? She’s fine. Honestly, I will take points off this movie for keeping her as a mostly useless sidekick/girlfriend throughout the movie.
One of the best parts of the movie is the contrast between generations. Maamannan’s generation tries to resolve matters without angering the upper caste politicians. Adhiveeran’s generation can’t stand that kind of oppression and he implores everyone to fight for their place. As time passes, Maamannan gains a rebellious streak from his son and Adhiveeran learns that there are merits in learning to control his rage from his father.
Same goes for Rathnavel. Just like his father, Rathnavel tries to oppress other castes for his own political benefits. But unlike his father, Rathnavel will go to any end, even if it means killing people, to maintain that status quo. He vows to destroy Maamannan to keep his status intact. The major escalation that kicks off the interval block, one of the best I’ve seen from Tamil cinema in quite some time, isn’t anything massive like the death of a loved one. Instead, it’s a pretty simple matter of a person sitting on a chair. Mari does a great job of highlighting the contrast between the fathers and sons of different backgrounds.
It’s the fact that the film has a great first half that the okay-ish second half disappoints you.
Mind you, it’s still watchable. But compared to the more explosive, intimate first half, the second act kind of fizzles.
The first half promised a personal struggle between Maamannan, Adhiveeran and Rathnavel. If the second half had progressed with that, the film would have been all the better for it. Not that political plotlines are boring. When done right, they can be just as engrossing as every other story. But Mari doesn’t do enough for us to get invested in the election story. All of a sudden, the movie drops us into a general election and we are supposed to believe that the people will rally behind Maamannan automatically. Where Karnan and Pariyerum Perumal told their messages without sacrificing their stories, the second half gives you a feeling that Maamannan sacrificed its story at the altar of messaging.
The election plotline was reminiscent of AR Murugadoss’s Sarkar. To be fair, Maamannan does a better job with the plotline than Sarkar. But it doesn’t do enough to stand out. People were expecting a violent skirmish between these two opposing personalities, but what we got was something was a damp squib. While I understand that this was the logical path that the movie had to take, Mari didn’t do a great job of trying to flesh out the inner workings of the election storyline for the second half of the plot.
Even with that second half, I’d still recommend Maamannan. The first half was great, AR Rahman’s score complimented the movie well. Vadivelu and Fahad Faasil’s performances alone would be worth the price of admission. If it had nailed that second half, then the movie would have been a bloody good movie. As it stands, it’s a good one.