Maya Review
Director: Ashwin Saravanan
Cast: Nayanthara, Aari, Lakshmi Priya
When was the last time you saw a Tamil horror movie with unprecedented research work and virtuoso screenplay writing? Forget Tamil cinema, classic horror movies are a rarity in global arena too. So, first of all a big bouquet to the precocious debut director, Ashwin Saravanan! He has literally paved way for authentic horror thriller genre in Tamil cinema.
Maya apparently has a Meta-film (a style of film-making in which the film does not let the audience forget they are watching a work of fiction) angle to it. Apsara (Nayanthara) is wannabe actress and she gets separated from her husband Arjun (Aari) as he preferred film career over her and their one-year old child, Meera. At one point of time, Apsara gets threatened by a money lender and hence she decides to participate in a contest to watch a horror movie called, Irul.
The condition to watch the horror movie is that no one would be accompanying the participant inside the movie hall and they would be carefully monitored, if there is a declination in pulse rate or blood pressure, they will not get the announced prize money of 5 lakhs.
In Irul, we are shown that there is a haunted asylum where a rich patient called Maya dies in a mysterious fashion and characters in the film are searching for her multi-crore worth diamond ring. There is a connecting point between Apsara and Maya, who apparently lost her life before two decades. Watch out the film on big screen to know the rest of the suspense and surprises…
The one and only negative aspect about Maya would be its slow pace but for a movie with exceptional research and unparalleled execution, one could easily overlook it! Meta film is undoubtedly a difficult genre that even masters couldn’t cater with sheer perfection but the connecting point in Maya has been done with amazing clarity.
It would be an injustice to call Maya as a plain horror movie because it has a pulpy crime angle and the director has beautifully dealt about the life-style of younger generation. When Tamil cinema travels in a stereotypical trend of horror movies filled with crass comedies and oomph factors, Maya is definitely a refreshing attempt but one has to wait and see whether our audience will accept the new screenplay technique and presentation.
Nayanthara is just fabulous and her classier side has been perfectly unleashed in Maya. When heroines are being offered clichéd glam-doll characters, it’s a treat to watch Nayanthara re-inventing herself by performing in an author backed role. Among the rest of the actors, Aari, Mime and Lakshmi Priya have done a commendable job while Robo Shankar is just adequate.
Technically, Maya is a stupendous film and the entire team has done a remarkable job on par with international standards. Off late, Maya has got the authentic sound design for a horror movie and it’s must watch in a Dolby Atmos theater. Cinematography Sathyan Sooryan has perfectly captured all the night shots with great élan while Suresh’s cuts have helped for the perfect flow of the film. Ron Ethan Yohaan’s background score in another brilliant aspect of the movie.
To conclude, Maya is undoubtedly one of the best horror movies of Tamil cinema and it is a must watch!
