Mari Selvaraj's new entry to his cinematic universe, led by Vadivelu playing the titular character, deviates a bit from his earlier films. This time it is centered around contesting an election, in order to fight for one's right to be treated as equals. MLA Maamannan (Vadivelu) is not in talking terms with his son Adhiveeran (Udhayanidhi Stalin), who loves raising pigs. On the other hand, Rathnavelu (Fahadh Faasil) is the district secretary of the same party, Maamannan is elected as an MLA. His brother attacks the coaching center run by Leela (Keerthy Suresh) which prompts Adhiveeran to retaliate. The casteist, power hungry Rathnavelu declares war against the father-son duo, who are not the ones to bow down. They bring in the fight through the elections and the film showcases this battle.
This outing of Mari Selvaraj, has his usual trademark symbolism via pigs and dogs. Unlike his other two films, this one resorts to a more straight forward story with one Dimension villain, humiliating the lower caste people just to oppress them to stay in power. The entire first half tried to establish the three main characters, inserting a flashback to explain why the father - son duo have built a wall between them and how cruel the antagonist is. With a superb action packed interval, Mari Selvaraj sets up the battlefield for the trio.
It is the second half that mellows down focusing on the election entirely. The action scenes too feels forced, which again would have been acceptable in any commercial film but not in a Mari Selvaraj film where you are expecting more about the characters to be explored. It still has a couple of stand out scenes but I couldn't stop myself from expecting more. It is here the powerful performance by Vadivelu comes to rescue.
As far as the performances go, Vadivelu puts up a terrific show. Fahadh Faasil though one dimensional character, brings his best. Udhayanidhi Stalin too is sincere though it's too much for him to carry a scene on his own. Keerthy Suresh is first rate in the limited appeal her character had. Maamannan is more of a commercial outing from Mari Selvaraj. With a really good first half and a passable second half, this is still a worthy watch.
This outing of Mari Selvaraj, has his usual trademark symbolism via pigs and dogs. Unlike his other two films, this one resorts to a more straight forward story with one Dimension villain, humiliating the lower caste people just to oppress them to stay in power. The entire first half tried to establish the three main characters, inserting a flashback to explain why the father - son duo have built a wall between them and how cruel the antagonist is. With a superb action packed interval, Mari Selvaraj sets up the battlefield for the trio.
It is the second half that mellows down focusing on the election entirely. The action scenes too feels forced, which again would have been acceptable in any commercial film but not in a Mari Selvaraj film where you are expecting more about the characters to be explored. It still has a couple of stand out scenes but I couldn't stop myself from expecting more. It is here the powerful performance by Vadivelu comes to rescue.
As far as the performances go, Vadivelu puts up a terrific show. Fahadh Faasil though one dimensional character, brings his best. Udhayanidhi Stalin too is sincere though it's too much for him to carry a scene on his own. Keerthy Suresh is first rate in the limited appeal her character had. Maamannan is more of a commercial outing from Mari Selvaraj. With a really good first half and a passable second half, this is still a worthy watch.