The last couple of weeks has been pretty low profile with not much movies having hit the screens or OTT platform that really caught my fancy. However, a host of movies were lined up for this weekend among which Karthik Subbaraj's "Mahaan" was released on Amazon Prime on Thursday. Without mincing words, it would be fair to say that it's been quite a while since we got to see Vikram in a movie that made use of his acting credentials. Hence the combination of Karthik & Vikram did provide hopes of a worthwhile entertainer & the trailer certainly seemed to point in the same direction. So will this give the much needed box office relief to the duo???
The film spans a period from 1968 to 2016 and follows the life of Gandhi Mahaan (Vikram) who hailed from a family of freedom fighters & swore allegiance to Gandhian principles. Even his wife, Nachi (Simran) was a staunch Gandhian & this essentially meant Gandhi, who didnt quite endorse the same ideologies led a stifled life until he hit the 40s. However, a coincidental meeting with his childhood buddy Satyavan (Bobby Simha) who ran an alcohol business turned his life upside down or rather gave him the freedom to lead the life that he always wanted. But it came at a cost.
After a lack lustered effort in "Jagame Thanthiram", Karthik would have certainly looked at this as an opportunity to make amends; not to forget that he did a fine segment called 'Peace' in "Navarasa". The central theme of the movie was interesting which is to realize the need for the right balance in any ideology. But in the process to convince the audience, Karthik tries to stuff with too many sequences which actually dragged the movie rather than add more impact. Even the much talked about face off between the father and son did not elevate to the level that was expected. On the technical side, Santhosh Narayanan's music & BGM as well as Shreyaas Krishna's visuals were fine while Vivek Harshan's editing could have been sharper.
It was a pleasure to see Vikram in a role that gave him ample scope to perform & he absolutely rocked at it. Another person who was equally impressive was Bobby Simha, whose character also went through various age related transformations while Vettai Muthukumar was spot on as Gnanam. As for the rest, Rakesh as Rocky was fine, Dhruv was average and Simran was wasted.
Verdict: Undoubtedly an interesting theme but whose scope wasn't fully explored. The first half was engaging while the second half felt confused and predictable though it also had some good sequences. In short, you can give it a try!!!
Rating; 2.75/5
Regards...Ben
No comments:
Post a Comment