Maanagaram Review
Star Cast : Sundeep Kishan, Shri, Regina, Munishkanth, Charlie
Director : Lokesh Kanagaraj
There is an inherent sincerity about it that makes Maanagaram one of most genuine films in recent times.
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj has taken a serious theme and blended it with the right mixture of humour and good performances from a fresh cast. As in every film, there are sequences which you feel, could have been better, but on the whole it is an overwhelming experience with some terrific moments of inspired humor which is a rarity in Tamil cinema. The occasional speed bumps aside, there are many moments that soar.
Maanagaram as the title suggests, deals with the different perspectives of people living in today's fast moving urban life. A youngster (Shri) with a lot of dreams comes to Chennai to take up a job in an IT firm. Then there is this care-free, brash youngster (Sundeep Kishan), who will go to any extreme for the safety of his love (Regina Cassandra). We also have a soft-spoken taxi driver who has come to the city so that he can give better medical treatment to his son. How the lives of these four characters get hyperlinked through a kidnap that goes wrong, forms the rest of the film.
As said earlier, hyperlink cinema is a complex theme and narrating it in an entertaining manner needs a lot of work and detailing. Any good cinema will have realism and fantasy in equal proportions. One may agree or not with the fact that all these four stories and characters get connected in a single day and same time which is far fetched. But here they are real and the situations unwind in front of us are beleivable. Yes, you get to see a lot of goodness in everyone— the way Lokesh introduces characters who are real, the emotional ups and downs in their flawed yet very human lives, each loosely connected to each other is the biggest strength of Maanagaram.
Discussing the brilliance of Lokesh’s writing, he connects each and every dots in the screenplay— The first scene opens with an interview session between Regina and Shri, the latter gets a call (we don’t know who) and the former gets a call (it is Divya and who is she?). In the climax, Shri speaks to his dad and Regina tells us in a scene later that Divya who is her close friend is Shri’s girlfriend. Thus we get to know why Regina goes out of her way to see that Shri gets the job! This is just one example of Lokesh's detailing, and there are plenty of such small things to discuss and decode.
Among all the characters sketched by Lokesh, Munishkanth with all his wacky one-liners is a master stroke. After Mundasupatti, the actor makes us laugh throughout the film, his unfeigned innocence is a major attraction and it has been well utilized in the climax, where he walks away from the bag which is full of cash!
All the actors have given their best. Sundeep Kishan’s swag mannerisms fit the bill for the bold and daring character while Shri’s subtle expressions rightly complement his righteous role and Regina has nothing much to do but she carries the role with ease.
Special mention to the young technical crew of Maanagaram. Music composer Javed Riaz is top form be it BGM or songs. Cinematographer Selvakumar showcased the nightlife of Chennai in a gritty manner while Philomin’s cuts have contributed for the crystal clear narration.
Maanagaram is a gripping film that seizes your full attention. Book your tickets for the weekend and you will not regret.
