MARYAN MOVIE REVIEW

After more than a year hiatus, Dhanush hits the ground running with by teaming up with acclaimed ac advertisement film-maker Bharat Bala, known for his classic "Vande Maatharam" video clip, teaming up with A.R Rahman. One of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2013, 'Maryan' tells us an inspired tale of three Indian workers being abducted in Sudan, and the protagonist being one among them, and how and why he landed in Sudan in the first place. Backed by a fantastic acting cast and a brilliant technical crew, did 'Maryan' blew us away ?

Dhanush has been doing a balancing act between doing out-and-out commercial 'masala' entertainers and well-scripted films. His acting prowess needs no extra introduction as his National Award speaks on behalf of him. In 'Maryan', Dhanush delivers another masterclass performance and is slowly raising the bar higher and higher among the younger lot of Tamizh heroes. His emotional outbursts, intense agony, shone through his expressive eyes, and the extreme physical difficulties he had to endure for challenging scenes, all paid big time for him. The emotional projection by Dhanush of Maryan, was simply brilliant. Awards galore, is certainly ticked in Dhanush's planner for 2014 ! And keeping him company would be Parvathi. She has given Dhanush a very tough competition in the acting department. She's neck-to-neck with Dhanush in delivering emotional sequences and also for grasping her character of Panimalar, very well. Her dialogue delivery is brilliant as well, and her timing is perfect. Its such a pleasure to watch an A-class performance from an actress in a main lead role, after a very, very long time ! Fellow National Award winners, Salim Kumar and Appukutty, alongside Jagan Purushottam, Uma Riyaz Khan, Vinayakan T.K, Ankur Vikal, Immanuel Annachi, Hari Krishnan and etc have done decent jobs with their limited scope of screen time presence. The African cast such as Christopher Minnie (the antagonist), Dogbe Tweh, Barry Mydou and etc were pale in comparison with the Indian cast in terms of acting, but they are ought not to be blamed, since they are not professional artistes.

The stunt choreography has been well handled by Dhilip Subbarayan and 'Action' Prakash for the Indian episode, while Kareen Noorist handles the African portions. The action sequences were well shot and conceptualized and adds strength to the emotional core of the script. Sheenu and Ingrid Bergman's costume designing for the Indian and African episodes, respectively, was functional and fulfilled the nativity factor needed. Vivek Harshan's editing quality is a mix-up, as his works in the melancholic songs were pretty good, but the overall film editing was a little less smooth. Especially with the non-linear mode of story-telling being implemented, here. Bharat Bala's line productions have taken care of the production design and their detailing for the fishing village of the fictional Neerodi and the interiors of the character's small hamlet-style houses, were intricate and precise. One among the three pillars of the film is the cinematographer. Mark Koninckx AFC, BBC from Belgium, known for his works in the French film 'Johnny Mad Dog', has given an outstanding output from his camera. Fantastic wide-angle shots of the coastal sea areas, dry and brazen desert, and the beautiful close-ups of the artistes, which captured the intense and lovely emotions of the performers, are dazzling piece of works. A real celluloid poem !

As for the second pillar of the film, it has to be none other than the music composer, A.R Rahman ! He has created magic with his compositions, which were actually reminiscent of his earlier works of the 90's. The tunes were simple but the mastering of the instrumentation, brought the level of the songs, several notches higher. "I Love My Africa" is a theme music for the African episodes, used sparingly for certain situations, especially during the opening and interval sequences. "Sonapareeya" is a celebratory song, shot in the coastal areas of Kanyakumari and Nagercoil, featuring the lead pair and also some of the character artistes. "Enge Pona Raasa" is a montage song, showcasing the agony of the heroine not knowing what has happened to her hero and the sense of longing for him, which has some poetic rain shots. The song also appears briefly, just before the end credits. "Innum Konja Neram" is a melody song, shot on the lead pair , also in montages, picturing them falling in love and their romantic escapades in their village. Some of the shots taken in the interiors of the house, are brilliant. "Netru Aval Irundhal" was the best picturized song in the film, with shots oozing in splendor and beauty, which comes right after the interval. The wind-angle canvass was wonderfully utilized for this song, shot on the lead pair. "Kadal Raasa Naan", a chart-busting song was the most disappointingly picturized song, of the whole album. The opening of the song, though emotional, falls completely flat, and fails to capture the actual mood and feel of the song. The dual visual tracks of the coastal flashback and the current African desert, is of no help either. "Nenje Yeazhu" is the other best shot song of the film, with the harsh, plain deserts, with Dhanush as the focal point, wonderfully shot by Mark. The background score by A.R Rahman is a huge complementary factor to the screenplay and for most of the time, aides the artistes in bringing out the true essence of script.

Bharat Bala's vision and direction is astute and focused. His conceptualization of the scenes pertaining to the actual core point of the script, the love portions of the lead pair, is top-class. The struggle of the hero, the sorrowful departure from the heroine, the abrupt and painful loss of friends and the intense yet beautiful love portions were all well scripted. The poetic nature of the story telling brings the script further forward and the romantic scenes ties up our attention. But, when the story shifts gear to other elements, especially the abduction and torture episodes, the script loses the intensity and this is where Bharat Bala's story starts faltering. The same detailing in the love scenes, were not devoted to other other portions, which is the main negative point of the film. A main reason was the weak characterization of the African antagonists role, whom doesn't thrill or shock us, nor were the characters being convincingly, terrifying enough. A powerful villain could have done wonders to the role, alas the weak screen presence of the African artistes, played foil though they were actual child soldiers. The non-linear screenplay by Bharat Bala and Sriram Rajan, does not help either, as the languorous pace tests our patience at certain points. R.N Joe D'Cruz's dialogues were functional, though not memorable and powerful enough to be etched in our memories forever. Some continuity mistakes are there, especially with Dhanush's appearance in the African episode. A complete, stronger plot would have done great wonders to the overall script, with more punch and style.

'Maryan' - Intense acting, poetic cinematography, soul-stirring music. The actual and only three pillars of the film.


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL