Maayon Movie Review
Double Meaning Productions’ ‘Maayon’ starring Sibiraj and Tanya Ravichandran in the lead roles is directed by Kishore. The movie has a screenplay written by producer Arunmozhi Manickam. KS Ravikumar, Radharavi, Baks, Tanya Ravichandran, and a few more prominent actors are a part of this star cast.
The story is set against the backdrops of a 5000-yr old ancient Temple at the foothills of Maayon hills. The dwellers of this region believe that Lord Krishna is resting inside a divine place. A group of archeologists headed by a leading personality (KS Ravikumar) heads to research the ancient pilgrimage. The team comprises the protagonist (Sibiraj) alongside a few more people, who are looking forward to unraveling the mystery about the place. But sooner it is revealed that Sibiraj and another team member (Hareesh Peraadi) are actually having conniving plans to loot the treasure inside the temple. What’s the reason behind the protagonist’s sudden change in nature? It’s narrated with some interesting twists, turns, and a surprise climax.
Before getting into the analysis, we appreciate the efforts of the makers of ‘Maayon’ for coming up with a new-fangled story premise that blends mythological aspects with treasure hunt adventure. Bringing in such new-styled genres will surely pave way for more to explore this domain. So we appreciate the team for banking trust in this concept and materializing it. The next source of attraction is the director’s ability to dramatize the entire play in a limited backdrop. The entire movie is staged in and around an ancient temple located in a mountainous region. Having picked up a mystery-adventure kind of genre, it’s not an easy task to keep the show going across the same place. However, Kishore’s directorial proficiency works out good results. The screenwriting by producer Arunmozhi Manickam is yet another noteworthy element in this movie. As abovementioned, it’s quite a complex job to narrate the entire premise in a limited zone with limited characters. But, his writing has contributed a lot in keep audiences engrossed. The next one to impress us is the art department (Handled by Balasubramanian). Usually, a movie like Maayon heavily depends on the technical department, where each and every domain has to work on its best to escalate its value. While cinematography and editing are good, the background score by Ilaiyaraaja and VFX isn’t up to the mark.
There are a few factors that slightly hamper the abovementioned factors. One among them is the sudden transition of Sibiraj’s character. He is depicted as one of the far-famed archeologists in the country, but sooner, we see him as a conman (spoiler alert). There are few twists involving his characterization in the tale, but then, we aren’t able to perceive it as the perfect one. The other characters played by Tanya Ravichandran, Baks and KS Ravikumar are good. But Hareesh Peraadi is just average. He is a brilliant actor, whose performance in Aandavan Kattalai is still regarded as fresh and appealing, but none of the other filmmakers have been utilizing him perfectly.
Maayon can be watched for the earnest attempt of experimenting with a never-before genre in the Tamil movie industry. Of course, we have come across some treasure hunt movies like Pudhaiyal in late 90s, but they have been scarce. This is a good movie to watch for it offers a fresh experience.
Verdict: A decent attempt at the first-of-its-kind genre in Tamil cinema.
