'Maaran' is currently streaming on Disney Hotstar. In this section, we are going to review the latest film dubbed from Tamil.

Story:

Maaran (Dhanush) and Shwetha (Smruthi Venkat), the children of the truthful and courageous journalist Sathyamoorthy (Ramki), share a strong bond after villains kill their father for doing an explosive piece of journalism. Maaran chooses his late father's path and locks horns with an ex-minister (played by Samuthirakani) by exposing his election scam, only to face a major crisis in life. Will Maaran manage to fight for what he believes in and save his skin, or will he be overwhelmed by the challenges? That's what the second half is about.

Analysis:

What do you call a Dhanush film where Dhanush looks almost demotivated? 'Maaran' is what you call it. Director Karthick Naren has pulled off the distinct feat of making a wonderful natural like Dhanush look eerily out of sync and lackluster through and through in this 130-minute-long yawn-inducing melodramatic whodunit that may never have known what it was up to.

Not just the male lead. The film also features a whole range of underwhelming performances. Samuthrakani was better as Daniel Sekhar's father in 'Bheemla Nayak' but here, his portions seem like they were shot in a hurry. Aadukalam Naren as the male lead's maternal uncle sleepwalks through the role as much as the talented Ameer. The talented Malavika Mohanan is somewhat of an exception.

Dhanush had unpredictable character arcs in 'Jagame Thandhiram' (Tamil, Telugu and other languages) and 'Atrangi Re' (Hindi), his most recent movies. In 'Maaran', his characterization is shorn of nuances. The writing looks bizarrely out of place in the universe of the investigative crime thriller.

In the second half, after the film starts introducing one or two supposed high points, the visual grammar, the performances, and technical aspects join hands to pull down our interest, if any left. The moment you make a journalist, a teacher, or a company CEO someone who is capable of being unrealistically gutsy, you are telling a typical commercial film, not a novel one. Given the context, the wise thing to do would be to enrich the screenplay with enjoyable/engrossing entertainment. In 'Maaran', the jokes don't land, the tracks involving the male lead and the women in his life are silly, the dialogues are uncreative...

Music director GV Prakash Kumar has done a so-so job with the songs and background score. There are no tiring songs, thankfully. Vivekanand Santhosham has provided what he is asked of with the visuals and Prasanna GK managed to keep the movie in a limited duration.

Verdict:

'Maaran' fails to click both as a thriller and a drama.