Cast : Nicky Sundaram, Aishwarya Rajesh, Kishore, Charle VTM, Vinod Krishnan and Ajay Ghosh; Screenplay & Direction : SA Baskaran; Story & Dialogue : Sentha Murugesan; Music Director : Prithvi Kumar; Original Background Score : Anil Johnson; Cinematography : VN Mohan; Editor : Preethi Mohan; Art Director : Senthil Raghavan; Stunts : Mahesh Mathew; PRO : Nikil Murukan; Produced by Sundaram Productions; Release Date: 23-08-2019; Run Time: 01:51:00
Debut directors in Tamil cinema going to the thriller genre isn’t something new. With a fairly heavy plot in hand, our directors have gone on to make films which have gone either way, with sparks of intelligence shown here and there. SA Baskaran’s Mei is the latest addition to this category, churning out a decent and watchable thriller that is set amidst the backdrop of medical crimes.
The film takes the risk of narrating two shades of the plot simultaneously, with kidnaps, murders and organ trade in the mix. The protagonist in Nicky Sundaram is introduced to us as an NRI house surgeon who finds a job at a local medical store for an unknown reason, but the film is not just limited to his character and weighs equal responsibilities on the supporting characters as well. Aishwarya Rajesh is not just the usual heroine, having a lot of dialogues and plot progression to take care of, along with Charle and Kishore who are very good in their roles. The film’s twist and climax segment may not go down too well with everybody, but it is indeed good to see the narration not go astray or pay heed to commercial compromises.
Technically, Mei is neat enough with some good songs from Prithvi Kumar and adequate BGM by Anil Johnson.
On the whole, Mei is a reasonably engaging thriller that could have done better with some more tightening. Nevertheless, a decent watch if you are a fan of the genre.