Ganesh_reviews_in_detail : Maaveeran (2023)
Siva and Madonne deliver a probable winner. Spoiler free review!!
swoosh! dishum!! stops the attack from his left, gives a dishum with his right hand. bends, jumps, runs, sways to a side, takes support on one leg and kicks with the other.
Maybe even somersaults! I grew up watching a TON of such action scenes that these do not excite me anymore unless there is an X factor. I sit through them with my ears being bombarded with sound effects and “massy” background music, interspersed with hoots from die-hard fans of the star, if it’s a star. As my eyes hardly register those “vera level” stunts (or maybe scrolling the phone), I wait for these customary scenes to get over. Well, these are part of our tradition for a commercial STAR entertainer.
Maaveeran’s USP is in making the mundane stuff mightily entertaining. As I was glued to the screen with utmost intent and hooting for the action scenes, a part I am usually least interested in, I knew that I was sold for the movie. So, are action scenes the only positive of the movie? Definitely not. The comedy, sentiments, and drama are bundled into one package which neatly entertains the audience for most of the time.
Siva has gone beyond his usual aspirations and promise of being an entertainer. He stands out as a terrific performer as well in this movie. When the movie peaks, like in its banger interval sequence, it accentuates and grows on his star image. In other portions of the movie, his performance keeps us invested. The same can be said for director Madonne Ashwin (who had a national award-winning debut with Mandela a couple of years back). The works of both the actor and director share such a symbiotic relationship with the movie’s overall output.
Madonne has gone forward with the same key crew persons that he had during Mandela - Music Director Bharath Sankar, Cinematographer Vidhu Ayyanna, Editor Philomin Raj - and their works add good value. Madonne’s only cast repetition - Yogi Babu - brings the floor down with his one liners. Probably his best comic role in a long time. I was sick of seeing him used as a sidekick or just to grab a few eyeballs in most movies. I wish he chooses more roles like this or proper character roles. Yesteryear actress Saritha and Aruvi Madan are effective and notable respectively. Aditi Shankar and Monisha do what is expected of them.
One thing that stood out in Mandela was the world building. Madonne’s views of the society and the politics surrounding it is so nuanced, matured and deep. Madonne gets going with this movie too in a similar way. Enter Vijay Sethupathi’s voice. How Siva’s character adapts to it and the way this fantasy element is integrated into the movie makes the proceedings more exciting. It leaves us at a point that we miss this organic combo when the voice stops. The antagonist, played by director Mysskin, is unfortunately not written so well enough to maintain the same tempo through rest of the proceedings. Sunil plays his right hand, but it does make one wonder whether the role required someone like Sunil. Maybe someone with more nuanced expressions and better comic timing? Someone like MS Bhaskar? I wonder!
Is the movie bad towards the end? No. Perhaps, the movie is not able to live up to the expectations set by its swashbuckling first half. Despite movie turning to cliche ideas to get us across the finish line, Siva runs all over the place, keeps us engaged and saves it from not getting worse. Maaveeran, following its tagline Veerame Jeyam (courage is victory), is a courageous experiment by Siva given the kind of movies he usually dishes out. Kudos for the courage and hope this emerges as a commercial winner too so that we can see more content strong masala films in the days to come!
Post Scriptum: VJS has done a voice role only and he is a contemporary of Siva. Yet his name with his moniker, Makkal Selvan, was displayed before Siva’s name. Siva need not have done that, but it was such a sweet gesture from his side which left me pleasantly surprised. Respect++ for SK.
Hello reader! In case, we have not met ..
I am Ganesh and I love talking, reading and writing about cinema. You can read more about me here.
Your writing is getting into a different level!!!