One of the most eagerly awaited Tamil movie of the year is here & it belongs to none other than Thalapathy (seems like he has graduated) Vijay. As expected, the bombastic release of "Mersal" happened on Diwali giving the public an additional option to celebrate the festival of lights. Ever since the trailer was released, the fans were swooning over it & to add to the excitement, AR Rahman had created some peppy numbers which has become chart busters. Seems like Atlee knows the pulse of the audience & has presented Thalapathy in all his glory. But will the story-line be worthwhile or be just run-of-the mill type???
Keeping with the tradition of mass masalas, the film unfolds with Dr. Maaran (Vijay) being arrested by Officer Ratnavel (Satyaraj) in connection to the abduction of certain hospital staffs. It was all the more surprising as Maaran popularly known as the "5 Rs doctor" was the darling of the masses for his humanitarian service which in turn bestowed him with prestigious awards. So why would he do something like this??? To add further twist to proceedings, the interrogation throws light on the fact that he was a renowned magician as well. But his last performance in Paris had led to the death of a Chennai based doctor Arjun Zachariah (Hareesh Peradi), on the back of an act that went horribly wrong. Ironically, both of them had a verbal spar early on when he had turned down Dr. Arjun's offer to join his hospital. So was his death indeed an accident & if it wasnt, why did he do it???
This was Atlee's second film in a row with Vijay, with his previous directorial venture being "Theri". He had written the script along with Ramana Girivasan & the core subject that it deals with is the corruption in the medical profession. In addition, he had also taken the services of K V Vijayendra Prasad of "Baahubali" fame for the screenplay & there are a couple of sequences that reminds us of it. Atlee has added the necessary ingredients & packaged it in such a manner that it maximized the star appeal of Vijay. Since he had assisted Shankar in a couple of projects, it was interesting to observe his influence such as the intro scene of Rajni in "Shivaji". It is a typical mass entertainer that moves along a decent pace in the first half & lags quite a bit in the second half. On the technical side, the film is just brilliant be it the mesmerizing colourful visuals by G K Vishnu or the scintillating BGM and tracks by Rahman. However, the same cant be said about Reuben who ought to have made the movie crisper
Vijay is the heart & soul of the movie and he has rocked the screen with his energy & charisma. He has done a fine job as the magician while as the doctor, he didnt quite fit the bill. The role of the villain is entrusted upon S J Surya & he has done a decent job. There is a huge star cast in the movie but hardly any of them gets significant screen space except for Nitya Menon, who despite her weight looked fabulous & did utmost justice to her meaty role. There are others such as Kajal Aggarwal & Samatha Akkineni, whose presence made no sense at all apart just lengthen the run time. Vadivelu & Satyaraj is present throughout but didnt get to do much while Kovai Sarala was a torture the brief period she featured.
Verdict: It has already set records in many parts of the world with an earth shattering initial. Despite the evident lag, "over the top" stunt sequences & cliched revenge plot, it still manages to entertain the audience. These kind of movies needs to be watched solely for the entertainment value & in that aspect it was spot on. In short, an apt movie for the festive season!!!
Rating: 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
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