Maayon review - An interesting treasure hunt

There are always takers for movies that have a treasure hunt as its core subject.  This week's release, 'Maayon' attempts to address the age old science versus myth conflict that every human undergoes.  Whether the film with its share of highs and lows satisfies the genre lovers remains to be seen.

A Maayon temple near Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu where a legend is carried on for centuries that it houses millions of dollars worth treasures comes to the notice of both the government and the villains.  A foreigner who deals with such items in the grey market assigns a group of archeologists headed by Arjun (Sibi Sathyaraj) and Devaraj (Hareesh Peradi) to steal it.  The group has to deal with insanity, gandarvas, anacondas and devilish dwarfs apart from deciphering a complicated centuries old maze to get to the treasure.  Do they succeed or not is what the rest of the screenplay is all about.

Sibiraj plays the grey shaded Arjun in his usual style with a couple of action scenes to boot. Tanya Ravichandran's character starts off as the mandatory heroine but becomes interesting when there is a twist to it.  Hareesh Peradi, K.S. Ravikumar, Radha Ravi and Bhagavathi Perumal are the other seniors who are convincing in their respective roles.

What works best in 'Maayon' are firstly the grey lead characters and their treasure hunt that keep the audience interested.  The film gives equal importance to the myth and the science explaining both the streams with conviction which is a plus.  The second half especially where a clock is ticking speeds up the pace and things become interesting and most of the explanations in the end are convincing.

On the downside none of the characters are etched out properly and hence they don't make an impact at all.  Similarly the screenplay drags in the first half and the visual graphics are not up to the mark considering the expectations of the OTT generation.

Isaigniani Ilayaraja is credited as the music composer and his classical background score sounds familiar.  There is nothing to complain about Ram Prasad's cinematography and Ram Pandian and Kondalrao's editing.  Arun Mozhi Manickam who has written the screenplay and also produced the film has done justice in both the departments as a debutante.  N. Kishore is credited with directing the film.

Verdict : Go for this one if you fancy action adventures with the proper mix of myths and science.