Madura Veeran - Nativity and Jallikattu rule
After a not so flattering start to his career, Shanmughapandian has made a comeback, one should say with this rural flavored saga of revenge which has Jallikattu as its core theme. Whether all sections of the audiences would embrace this passable attempt remains to be seen.
Durai (Shanmugapandian) arrives with his mother from Malaysia to his village in the guise of searching for a suitable bride. His dead father Rathnam (Samuthirakani) was a well respected leader who tried his best to unite the villagers. To everyone's surprise the prospective brides whom the hero sees turn him down after he speaks to them in private. There is also his cousin (Newcomer Meenakshi) who also does the same to grooms who come to see her. The village is divided due to the feud between an upper caste bull owner (Vela Ramamurthy) and a lower caste one (Mime Gopi) who for many years have been the reason the village could not conduct the Jallikattu sport. What is the protagonist's real motive for coming to the village and what happens when he takes it upon himself to conduct the Jallikattu is what the rest of the screenplay is all about.
There is a marked improvement in Shanmugapandian's screen presence in this film when compared to the ill-fated 'Sagaptham'. He towers over the rest of the cast due to his height and is very convincing in the action sequences as he has the build as well as the skill to beat up half a dozen men. Meenakshi the Kerala girl has no problems passing of as a Madurai girl and looks every bit the rural beauty in the short song bits. Samuthirakani as the village headman looks every bit his part and as usual puts in a sincere performance. Vela Ramamurthy, Marimuthu. P.L.Thenappan and Mime Gopi provide sold support in their respective roles while a subdued Bala Saravanan manages a chuckle here and there.
A big plus of 'Madura Veeran' is the manner in which the nativity of rural Madurai has been captured to perfection be it in the dialogues or in the atmosphere. The Jallikattu sequences and the politics behind the sport are dealt with authenticity.
On the downside the revenge sagas of Madurai area has been seen a number of times and there is no novel twist or turn to make this film stand apart. The murder mystery that is woven into the story works to an extent but the way it is exposed in the climax turns out to be a damp squib. The real Jallikattu protest is used in the screenplay rather lazily and thus does not evoke the desired emotional high. Uneven pacing of the sequences is another problem that could have made a difference.
Santhosh Dhayanidhi has elevated the film by his vibrant folk songs and background score while P.G. Muthiah himself has captured the rural essence brilliantly through his lenses and angles. As a director Muthaiah has extracted good performances from his cast and shows patches of brilliance throughout the screenplay which however do not sum up in the end.
Verdict : Go for this one to enjoy the rural flavor and a recall of the Jallikattu moments.
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