Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay and Direction
Technical Efforts and Music
Ingenious, Entertaining Fantasy-Comedy!
Maragadha Naanayam is an originally written, authentic comedy thriller with an ingenious fantasy spin to the core plot. At a time when old-fangled ghost comedies bombard Tamil screens tirelessly, Maragadha Naanayam comes as a breath of fresh air which breaks cliches and stereotypes associated with the genre.
Cast: Aadhi, Nikki Galrani, Munishkanth, Anandraj, Daniel Pope, Arunraja Kamaraj, Sangili Murugan, MS Bhaskar
Cinematography: PK Varma
Editing: GK Prasanna
Music: Dhibu Ninan Thomas
PRO: Suresh Chandra
Written & Directed by: ARK Saravan
Produced by: Axess Film Factory
Release Date: 16-06-2017
Maragadha Naanayam is an originally written, authentic comedy thriller with an ingenious fantasy spin to the core plot. It’s part ghost caper, part fantasy comedy, and part heist thriller, with all genres entertaining the audiences in an equally good measure.
Debutant filmmaker ARK Saravanan has come with up an out-of-the-box idea, which will genuinely surprise viewers, to intersperse humor in the screenplay organically. At a time when old-fangled ghost comedies bombard Tamil screens tirelessly, Maragadha Naanayam comes as a breath of fresh air which breaks cliches and stereotypes associated with the genre.
Senguttuvan (Aadhi) is in dire need of Rs. 40 lakhs (the reason for which is never revealed). He teams up with a small-time smuggler Ilango (Daniel Pope) and agrees to take up the big task of stealing an invaluable antique emerald object (Maragadha Naanayam), which will fetch them a deal of Rs. 10 crores. But, the Maragadha Naanayam belongs to a king from 1100 AD called Irumburai, whose spirit has already killed 132 people who attempted the loot.
Director ARK Saravan nicely sets the ball rolling with a brief backstory to his central characters and dives into the main plot with the confidence of an assured filmmaker. While Saravan succeeds in entertaining the audiences with his battalion of comedians, his effort to keep them engaging goes downhill since the thriller part of the story is not up to the mark.
Despite a few unremarkable shortcomings, Maragadha Naanayam, definitely, is a terrific fantasy comedy with the supporting cast delivering some excellent performances that bring the roof down at regular intervals.
Munishkanth’s idiosyncrasies and a lovely comedy timing, Arunraja Kamaraj’s composed act, Nikki Galrani’s fantastic character arc and Anandraj’s enjoyable portrayal of a comedy-villain are the highlights of the film. Even the over-stretched climax portion is salvaged by Saravan’s amusing ensemble cast.
Dhibu Ninan Thomas is a great find. His background score efficiently gels with the film’s multiple themes and pumps the proceedings, whenever needed. GK Prasanna’s editing is also noteworthy since he comprehensively conveys the multi-genre writing and the complexity involved in certain characters with great ease.