Maamannan Review

Maamannan (Vadivelu) serves as an MLA representing the Kasipuram constituency and is affiliated with a political party that advocates for equality and social justice. His son, Adhiveeran (Udhayanidhi Stalin), is an Adimurai (a martial art practised in Tamil Nadu) teacher and also maintains a pig farm as a hobby. In the same village, Rathnavel (Fahadh Faasil) is an influential politician, who is the head of the political party that Vadivelu is associated with.

Filmmaker Mari Selvaraj movies delve into the world of discourteous and oppressed groups of people, where the weakest battle the odds to step out of the troubled waters. While his previous films Pariyerum Perumal and Karnan deeply carried the hard-hitting themes, his latest outing ‘Maamannan’ revolves around three primary characters – Maamannan (Vadivelu), a MLA of Kasipuram constituency, his son Adhiveeran (Udhayanidhi Stalin), a martial arts trainer and Rathnavel (Fahadh Faasil), a strong politician. The entire political drama centres on the confrontation among these characters.

The first and foremost thing that attracts you instantly towards this film is the stellar performances of the actors. To be specific, Vadivelu is a huge surprise, who steps out of his regular hilarious paradigms, and steals our attention with his serious characterization. On the other hand, it’s Fahadh Faasil, who brings up a terrific act. He scares you to the core struggling to retain his stature and ideologies. Just when the promotional posters of Maamannan were released, the audiences were surprised to see the name of Udhayanidhi Stalin listed after Vadivelu, Fahadh and Keerthy Suresh, which gets justified after you watch the film. It’s great indeed to see an actor placing himself at this stature. Udhayanidhi befittingly looks perfect for his character. He expresses the pain and pathos of his childhood through his silence. Vadivelu’s character looks so adorable as he is someone, who sees both Udhay and Fahadh as his son. There’s a particular scene, where the antagonist gets into the car and threatens him, only to get a response that sends entire theater burst into laughter.

Technically, AR Rahman delivers an impeccable spell with his BGM that distinctly enhances the intensity of film. Although songs were amazing when heard as album, they don’t sync well with the film’s screenplay. Since all the songs except Namma Kodi, are montages, they give a stretched out impact in screenplay. Theni Eeswar’s Cinematography is exquisitely elegant.

On the whole, Maamannan does complete justice to its premise with neat writing, spectacular performances and top-notch technical works.

Verdict: A hard-hitting film with flawless performances and brilliant music.

Rating: 3.5/5