Maayavan Movie Review

December 14, 2017

2 minutes read

Review Overview

Performances

Screenplay and Direction

Technical Aspects and BGM

An intriguing crime thriller!

Maayavan, which marks producer CV Kumar's directorial debut, is an intriguing investigative crime thriller with a fascinating sci-fi spin. Although the futuristic core plot of the story alienates audiences, CV Kumar has made sure that he stays true to the film's genre without any compromise in the story-telling.

Cast: Sundeep Kishan, Lavanya Tripathi, Jackie Shroff, Daniel Balaji, Jayaprakash, Bagavathi Perumal, Mime Gopi

Cinematography: Gopi Amarnath

Music: Ghibran

Editing: Leo John Paul

Screenplay and Dialogues: Nalan Kumarasamy

Director: CV Kumar

Produced by: Thirukumaran Entertainment

Release Date: 14-12-2017

Run Time: 128 minutes

Maayavan, which marks producer CV Kumar’s directorial debut, is an intriguing investigative crime thriller with a fascinating sci-fi spin. Although the futuristic core plot of the story alienates audiences, CV Kumar has made sure that he stays true to the film’s genre without any compromise in the story-telling.

That the film’s screenplay and dialogues are written Nalan Kumarasamy is evident in the superbly conceived opening sequence, which establishes the character of Crime Inspector Kumaran, played by Sundeep Kishan in a physically demanding role. The in-your-face writing on a few crucial junctures of the film has Nalan’s class written all over it.

After a series of ghastly murders in the city, Kumaran, who is entrusted with the job of finding the culprit, sees a similar pattern in each killing and sets out to discover the motive.

The first half of the film is a complete slow-burn, with various mysterious knots in the story getting disentangled one by one even as CV Kumar makes audiences play guessing games. However, the screenplay moves at a snail pace, and the lack of excitement is visible as we near the pre-interval sequence. Lavanya Tripathi, who plays a psychiatrist in the film, aces the role but her horrible lip-sync is quite a worry.

The film makes a solid comeback in the second half, which proceeds swiftly thanks to Leo John Paul’s nifty editing work. After Maanagaram, Sundeep Kishan delivers yet another solid film, which he shoulders from start to end from the driver’s seat. He emotes subtly whenever needed and packs a punch in action sequences comfortably.

The shift in tone of the script from comedy to tragedy in a few instances is what makes Maayavan click. The volatile transitions might seem far-fetched, but for discerning viewers, Maayavan could be an entertaining watch with a thrilling second half, which doesn’t make viewers blink. The zeal in the story is not achieved through twists but the unveiling of the conspiracy, which serves as a source material to construct intrigue.

On the whole, Maayavan is an absorbing film in the investigative crime thriller space and is definitely worth its while.