"Maari' Review
Director: Balaji Mohan
Cast: Dhanush, Vijay Yesudas, Kajal Aggarwal, Robo Shanka
Dhanush’s Maari follows the tried and tested template of the age-old mass commercial movies of Tamil cinema. Director Balaji Mohan has perfectly glorified the protagonist with punch dialogues, slow-motion shots and an adrenaline pumping background score by Anirudh. It is a film that makes no bones, no pretenses about the fact that it is packaged for B & C audiences.
Maari (Dhanush) is a local don. According to popular hearsay-eight years back, Maari had murdered another powerful goon in that area after which he took over as local dada. When Arjun (Vijay Yesudas), a cunning cop gets transferred to the area, he tries to collect enough proof to put Maari behind the bars with the help of Sridevi (Kajal) who has her own reasons to hate the don.
Now, Maari the goon with a large heart returns from jail, only to realise that his area is now under the control of Arjun and the rest of the film is a predictable mayhem. Maari’s biggest strength is undoubtedly Dhanush’s impetuous performance and terrific screen presence. He is slowly but surely turning out to be a complete entertainment package – the actor single handedly carries the film with his swag mannerisms and effortless dialogue delivery.
After Dhanush, it is Robo Shankar who steals the show with his unique one-liners and body language. Whenever the screenplay slows down, Robo Shankar lightens up the mood of the audience with his uncanny humor-easily Maari is his career best performance.
Kajal Aggarwal sleepwalks in a badly written role. She hardly emotes and may be someone should tell her that it is time to put some effort to act. Vijay Yesudas looks menacing but the weak characterisation lets him down.
Though Anirudh’s songs are mass numbers,the background elevates the film to a different level which is apparently another hero of the film. Cinematography by Om Prakash is stylish and his frames captures local Chennai in vivid colour tones.
On the downside, this exaggerated and formulaic, old-fashioned entertainer plays to the galleries, and relies squarely on the charm of its leading man to pull off its over-the-top tone. The film is a showcase not so much for Dhanush’s acting, but for his scorching screen-presence and his infectious enthusiasm for dialogue delivery.
On the whole, Maari is sure to appeal to die-hard Dhanush fans. For others though, it’s strictly average entertainment.
