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| Mariyaan - A Review |
Having heard mixed reactions, I was a bit skeptical about watching this film because i chose Mariyaan over Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. I walked out happily having watched one of the best tamil films i had seen in a long time. It is hard to choose a winner here between Mark Koninckx's Cinematography, Bharat Bala's direction, Dhanush's performance and Rahman's music. But still i feel cinematography is slightly ahead, each and every frame could be made out into a beautiful portrait. If there is something missing from the film it could be the slightly weaker screenplay in the second half, the terrorists could have been more detailed.
Coming to performances, Dhanush again proves the fact that he is in a league of his own when it comes to acting. Though Aadukalam won him the national award for best actor, I always felt that Mayakkam Enna has been his best work. Mariyaan is where he raises the bar and stuns everyone yet again. Rarely does small built actors succeed at portraying characters with heroism, Dhanush does it with ease and grace. He is setting his standards high with each film, I wish he manages to live up to the expectations in films to come. Parvati was the apt girl for the role of Panimalar, beautiful, talented and sensuous. She manages to perform almost on par with the two national award winners. The chemistry between Mariyan and Panimalar is brilliant. Salim Kumar's as Panimalar's father had very little to do, but has made an impression for sure. The dubbing for Salim Kumar though falls short, maybe we feel this because we have been listening to his original voice over the past decade. Vinayakan also performs at his best playing one of the antagonists. The rest of the cast fails to make an impression on the viewer.
Bharat Bala, When the film was announced i felt I knew this name. I Google-ed and found out that he was the one who directed AR Rahman's famous Vande Mataram video. I wonder what took him such long time to direct his first film in mother tongue. He is brilliant as the director but falls slightly short as a screenplay writer. Bharat Bala is a gem of a director and is truly a gift to Indian Cinema. Eagerly waiting for his next directorial venture. The cinematography is what the film is all about, I haven't seen such a visually pleasing film in years. You would agree once you watch the film. Vivek Harshan's editing is brilliant and lives up to his name.
AR Rahman is back to his best with Mariyaan. The BGM's were top notch, but at times the cinematography, direction and performances are so intense that you might miss the beautiful score by ARR in the background. For the first time i felt that the direction and cinematography of songs is on par with AR Rahman's beautiful music, which is no simple feat. When the album was released i loved just three songs 'Netru aval', 'Nenje Yezhu', and 'Innum konjam', after watching the film you will fall in love with all the songs.
If you are expecting an out and out survival-hostage-escape genre film, chances are that you will be disappointed, Mariyaan is more a love story, a beautiful one indeed. If it hadn't been for the mediocre performances from the cast that played the terrorists, who couldn't match up to Dhanush's brilliance, and a slightly less detailed screenplay in the second half Maryan could have ended up a flawless film. I would love to write more on the film, but it would just spoil the fun you have while watching the film. I suggest you watch the film as a viewer and a not as a critic, you will end up loving it. Being a critic is fine if you ask me, but never be a Rajeev Masand.
Bottomline: Go for it ! Don't Hesistate. Because if you miss it, chances are that you will regret not having watched it at a theater after the DVD is released.
