Two days ago, during a press conference, Kollywood actor Sivakarthikeyan, fondly known as SK, was all praise for director Madonne Ashwin. The actor told the media how the director had made his previous movie, Mandela, a political satire, to tell the story of simple people. SK might have chosen to work with Ashwin based on the success of Mandela, and Maaveeran is a mix of entertainment and messages on social responsibility.
Maaveeran opens with artist Sathya (Sivakarthikeyan) drawing a comic strip series on the story of a brave warrior who saves a princess from inside a crumbling fortress. Maaveeran is the story of Sathya, a timid young man from a lower middle-class family who wants to spend his life for his mother and younger sister. One day the local politicians representing the government ask the slum-dwellers, where the hero lives, to move to a nearby tenement. When his mother (Saritha) protests, the hero asks her to “adjust” to the situation. When his mother asks him to fight against social evil, Sathya chooses to be silent and her to do the same. The new tenement they move into is poorly built with cracks on the wall and paint peeling off.
What does Sathya do to rectify this? Does he fight for his people or remain a coward forms the rest of the story. Sivakarthikeyan shines in the fantasy film filled with fun and laughter for over one hour. It is interesting to watch Sivakarthikeyan playing a coward. The screenplay is brilliant with social commentary that comes in the form of humorous one-liners. It is a complete laugh riot when Sivakarthikeyan and Yogi Babu come on the screen together. Yogi Babu plays Kumar, a construction worker hired to do patchwork in the government tenement. The action sequences are unique with elements of fantasy.
Vijay Sethupathi's voice-over is master class. Director Mysskin shines as a politician. Adithi Shankar as a sub-editor of a daily newspaper has a very small role to play.
However, the movie gets boring towards the end, making the audience tired of watching a coward.
Director: Madonne Ashwin
Cast and crew: Siva Karthikeyan, Adithi Shankar, Yogi Babu, Saritha, Mysskin
Rating: 3/5
