‘Maareesan’ movie review: Vadivelu, Fahadh Faasil steal the show in this slow-burn suspense flick

What will we like most about Vadivelu?

In the event you stated his comical expressions and reactions, you’d be principally proper. From Mates to Vetrikodi Kattu, Vadivelu’s physique language and facial expressions when delivering humorous strains have crammed awkward silences in lots of drawing rooms as they play out on tv.

This continues up to now on Tamil comedy channels.

In Maareesan, his newest function, written by V. Krishna Moorthy and directed by Sudheesh Sankar, Vadivelu sheds all these strengths. Right here, he’s Velayudham, an Alzheimer’s affected person who has largely forgotten his previous. In his introduction sequence, he’s chained and calling out to somebody whom he thinks is his son.

Solely, he isn’t. The stranger is Dhayalan (Fahadh Faasil), a goofy small-time thief who has damaged in. In his thoughts, this can be a fast job — a person tied to a sequence and an empty home. However there’s cash…if solely he spent extra time with this man in need of reminiscence.

The 2 determine to go on a street journey, and that adjustments issues drastically. Whereas the primary half is a gradual burn, paying homage to many Malayalam movies for its tempo and candy nothing-ness, an arresting interval block units issues up properly for a thriller.

The twists are many, however all of them arrive slowly, like a personality’s change of intention and the following actions. Do we actually know somebody absolutely? Maareesan explores this side in good measure by taking on a protagonist who has dementia. That itself is a triumph — as a result of forgetfulness is an enormous ordeal. What’s life with out recollections, the lead character asks nonchalantly, and you are feeling sympathetic to his state.

And what’s it about FaFa, as Fahadh Faasil is popularly referred to as? How do all these mischievous shades of gray within the universe entice this actor? Barely taking off from his efficiency in his Malayalam movie Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, a movie that kickstarts with him swallowing a necklace that he stole, Fahadh as soon as once more aces the goofy half in Maareesan, utilizing his shrug-off mannerisms to good impact. His camaraderie with Vadivelu — a collab that began with Mari Selvaraj’s Maamannan— is heartfelt. We want extra movies that includes them roll out.

When the first promo material of Maareesan got here out, I puzzled if it will be one other Meiyazhagan, that’s, a movie through which two individuals get to know one another higher. Maareesan has that side going for it within the first half, however in far much less impactful measure. The atmosphere-building is leisurely performed; the 2 maintain going off on rides and taking lavatory breaks. We maintain getting scenes after scenes with the 2, with little or no taking place. Generally I want Vadivelu would simply break into an impromptu comedy sequence, however he stays strictly in character, as he should.

A flashback might have been trimmed, a music performs out for eternity, and characters aside from the leads are much less explored. However when it’s a movie about forgetfulness that cheekily weaves in a well-liked Ilaiyaraaja quantity — the lyrics of which go “Nethu oruthara paarthom…paarthu oruthara maranthom” — it deserves a glance in.

Maareesan is at present working in theatres