Meaghamann Movie Review

Cast: Arya, Hansika, Sudhanshu Pandey, Ashutosh Rana, Ashish Vidyarthi, Anupama Kumar, Sanjana Singh, Avinash, Mahadevan, Harish Uthaman, Ramana, Maha Gandhi, Gaayathri Raman & others 

Cinematography: SR Sathish Kumar

Music: Thaman

Editing: Srikanth NB

PRO: Nikkil Murugan

Written & Directed by: Magizh Thirumeni

Produced by: Nemichand Jhabak & V. Hitesh Jhabak

Release Date: 25-12-2014 

Run Time: 02:20:00

Tamil cinema has witnessed umpteen number of undercover cop stories. And, Magizh Thirumeni’s Meaghamann is one such flick made with honest attempts to make it look like an engaging, slickly made thriller. Meaghamann is a reasonably watchable action thriller with a handful of gritty moments, but the predictability in narration sneaks repeatedly and turns you off occasionally.

Two undercover cops (played by Arya and Ramana) are part of two influential drug cartels to infiltrate their operations, aided by two loyal civil servants. Before they attempt to bring the mobsters to justice, their identities get unmasked. What happens forms the rest of the story.

It’s a very familiar premise where the hero and his friend take on gangsters as undercover cops. And, you obviously know, who would fall victim and emerge victorious towards the end, right? Despite giving away the plot, Magizh Thirumeni has spun a passable thriller with his smart execution, wide range of villains, and a refreshing makeover of Arya.

The first half sets the stage for the hide-and-seek drama with a stand-out interval block. Anal Arasu’s hard-hitting, adeptly choreographed stunts deserve mention. With a heavy star-cast, Magizh’s way of introducing various characters to the viewers is lucidly done. The smartness with which Magizh managed to plant engaging twists in his previous action thriller Thadaiyara Thakka is quite missing here. The twists and turns in the second half don’t offer real excitement and leave you with so many ‘I-thought-so’ moments, which are quite disappointing.

Arya has got the much-needed changeover from the tiring chocolate boy roles. He plays Siva with calculated intensity and aggression. And, this should be Hansika’s most forgettable onscreen appearance in recent times. She hardly has any screen space, forget about performing. She appears in bluntly written, underwhelming comic scenes. The singular fact that she plays a crucial lead to one of the many twirls in the film doesn’t make up for her weak characterization. The romance sequence in the second half is a blatant momentum-spoiler. Interestingly, Hansika’s role reminds of Samantha’s in Anjaan and coincidentally, MM Manasi, who dubbed for Samantha in the film, has dubbed for Hansika in Meaghamann, which is a flatly worrying choice. With so many antagonsists on board, only Ashutosh Rana carries off his role with conviction and leaves a mark.

Sathish Kumar’s camerawork is piercing in stunt sequences and consistently good in capturing the Goan back-drop, where the film is set in. Thaman has come up with good background score with an impressive theme track, which is played ad nauseam though.

Magizh Thirumeni has an eye for slick execution and shows maturity with his deft handling of scripts. Both his subjects, Thadaiyara Thakka and Meaghamann, are fitting mass-hero subjects and with all due respect to Arun Vijay and Arya, who have undoubtedly given their best, have every chance to get elevated to a different level when performed by a mass hero with commanding screen presence.

Meaghamann Movie Review Rating:  2.5/5