Director: Santhakumar
Cast: Arya, Indhuja, Mahima Nambiar
It is pertinent to note that Magamuni, directed by Santhakumar (of Mouna Guru fame), released on September 6th, just a day after Teacher’s day. One of the two central characters in the film, Muniraj aka Muni (played by Arya) is an eccentric teacher, Yoga practitioner and bibliophile living in a remote but picturesque village in Erode district. Unfortunately, the one thing the scholarly Muni is not able to read is danger. Academic consultations and friendly conversations with Deepa (Mahima Nambiar), a student of journalism, are mistaken for romantic courtship by her caste obsessed dysfunctional family and they want Muni dead (Muni in fact is a practitioner of Brahmacharyam)! The scene that follows where they trap and try to execute their plan for Muni is one of the most bone chilling ones seen in recent times in Tamil cinema. This is also the pivotal point in the story that has a parallel track that follows the life of Maga aka Magadevan (also played by Arya).
Maga could not be any different from Muni. He is introduced in the film as a cab driver but soon, we are given to understand that this is only a cover. He is in fact a go-to assassin for local politicians and specializes in covertly executing sinister jobs for them. Things take a turn for the worse when his cover is blown and to make matters worse, he is being framed for a clumsily executed murder he had no knowledge of. It’s now Maga Vs the world and he scrambles to save himself and his family from looming peril.
Magamuni’s screenplay is a slow burn to start with. But you understand the reason for this tempo that Santhakumar orchestrates. He takes his time to establish his two protagonists, their conflicts and the worlds around them. It is almost two movies in one and the audience is kept on tenterhooks wondering when these stories and characters would meet. In my opinion, this was the biggest win for the film that also thankfully spared us from an unnecessarily long and obvious flashback sequence, to explain Maga and Muni’s separation as children. Once their stories begin to overlap though, the film shifts to another gear altogether. The final stretch is just riveting. Along with Arya, GM Sundar also steals the show in his portrayal of the corrupt crime branch Inspector. Watch out for this scene where he narrates a hilarious story from his youth that left the audience in absolute splits!
Technically brilliant in all respects, Santhakumar and his crew have delivered a near perfect piece, with some solid filmmaking. You have to laud his effort to craft his character sketches to the minutest detail and this really stood out for me from this film. To be hyper-critical, Thaman’s re-recording could have used a little more variety (the score was just too loud at times)! And the first half of the film could have perhaps used some minor trims. But ultimately, just like couplets from the ‘Thirukkiural’ that are so dear to Muni, the lives of him and Maga come together to deliver one profound and memorable film that is Magamuni.
Overall rating: 3.5/5
