Director: Dhilip Kumar
Cast: R. Madhavan, Shraddha Srinath, Mouli, Sshivada, Alexander Babu
Language: Tamil
There is this hilarious scene in Dhilip Kumar’s Maara in which the titular character (Madhavan) has a drink with a thief (Alexander Babu) who attempts to break into his house. It is so unexpected with a remarkably interesting twist that it sums up Maara’s enigmatic character. Maara the film is filled with such moments. Surreal, sometimes disjointed moments set in a dreamy tapestry that slowly make sense as the story evolves. The film is based on the 2015 Malayalam hit Charlie starring Dulquer Salman and Parvathy.
Maara is a wandering soul in search of a lost love. Not his own, but the long-lost love of a father figure Vellaiyan (Mouli). Vella’s story is a bittersweet one where a tragedy separates him from his teenage love, with whom he has never exchanged words. Vella holds on to his memories and his relentless pursuit of his Meenakshi is what takes Maara through his travels all around. Enter Paaru (Shraddha Srinath), who follows trails of painted walls, which by a twist of fate tell the exact same story she had once heard in her childhood. In her pursuit of the story that changed her life, Paaru encounters fragments of Maara and his influence without actually meeting him. The rest of the movie is filled with people and their paths in life that irrevocably lead Paaru to Maara and Vellaiyan to Meenakshi.
This romantic drama by Dhilip Kumar is not romance in the purest sense. It gives us romantic souls and belief in long lost love stories. The word pursuit gains a new meaning in this film – everyone is in pursuit of something; be it love or peace or soulmates. There are a few inspired moments that keep the journey of Paaru alive. Her tryst with a thief, a doctor longing for peace, an old man rewriting a love letter, literally, are all instances that light up the screen. The second half is a breeze to watch. The pursuit at last reaches a crescendo and all the stories come together almost seamlessly. But the first half drags a bit and wanders around…pretty much like Maara himself.
The film has a dreamy quality all around. It after all starts off with a mythical love story in a far-off land and maintains that space throughout. As a result, we have villages painted vibrantly, quaint art, and a whole lot of artistic stuff promenading throughout the film. A special shout out to cinematographers Dinesh Krishnan and Karthik Muthukumar. The film has stunning visuals that take us through this fairy-tale like story filled with vibrant colours. But there does come a point when the dreaminess seems too stretched and you long for some ‘normal’ instances as well.
Madhavan as Maara delivers in an understated yet sure-footed role. Madhavan’s innate charm works and even though we don’t see him on screen that much… we know he is there somewhere. Shraddha excels as a steadfast and confident art restorer. Her character is a lovely complement to Maara’s. Kudos to Dhilip Kumar for an excellent supporting cast. It is heart-warming to see Mouli in such a dignified role that he aces with ease. Alexander Babu makes an impression in the few scenes he stars in… look out for a scene in which he chooses between two houses to steal from. Sshivada awes us with mere glances and strong expressions.
But Maara is too long (2 hours 29 mins), and after a point, the romance and the dreaminess become passe and mundane. The length of the film is really the culprit and even as we see so many unique tales come together, it seems a bit too surreal, as if the film were trying too hard. So, when we FINALLY do get to the climax, the meet cute of Maara and Paaru felt anti-climactic and flat to me. If only Paaru had met her soulmate 20 or 25 minutes before the climax…
Maara is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Rating: 2.5/5
