Not many directors are so adept in making film based in villages or small towns. This would mean that the writer-director should have a deep understanding of the culture and lifestyle of people living in such locations. Director Muthiah of ‘Kutti Puli’ and ‘Komban’ fame is one of the few directors who has prove his prowess in capturing the cultural and behavioural aspects of rural and semi-rural people and also who also has the knack of delivering entertainers loaded with action and sentiment.
 
Now he has joined hands with top league hero Vishal who has already proven his fitness for such films and the combination itself has mounted a lot of expectations over ‘Marudhu’. The trailer also was on the expected lines but not all our expectations come true in real life.
 
Marudhu (Vishal) is a load carrier in Rajapalayam and he has been parented by his grandmother Mariamma (Kolla Pulli Leela). His grandma, for whom he will do anything, wants him to fall in love and marry Bhagyam (Sridivya). Bhagyam files a case against the local political thug Rolex Pandian (RK Suresh) for committing a murder of her mother, with her father who is a lawyer (Marimuthu). This case will hamper the growth of Pandian who has the support of local big shot Bayilvan (Radharavi) and expects an MLA seat from his party through him.
 
So Pandian is waiting to kill Bhagyam and her father. How Marudhu saves them from such a dreadful and cruel Pandiyan and what’s the role of his grandma in this, forms the rest of the film.
 
‘Marudhu’ comes with a nice package of action, sentiment and romance and all the three aspects worked out well though not as much as expected or as much as it was in ‘Komban’. But the film is highly predictable, lengthy and there is hardly any scene that elicits a wow feeling in you.
 
One-up-manship and build up to the larger than life hero will work out only if they come with smart action blocks but ‘Marudhu’ hardly has any. In this film the action blocks are just a series of fights between the extremely powerful hero and the sidekicks of the villain and finally the lead villain. The director has even failed to capitalize the opportunity to give an interesting drama with the trio of the hero, villain and the Bailvan character.
 
Too many of scenes are allocated for the build of romance between the lead pair but they do not fail to keep you hooked mainly due to the chemistry and the freshness of the lead par. Sentiment scenes do not go overboard and melodramatic and they are kept under the check. The grandmother character is used for a bigger purpose than sentiment in this film and that makes it more interesting.
 
The only department where the expectations over the entertainment are completely fulfilled is comedy. Soori dialogues and antics have worked out well after a pretty long gap. His scenes with Vishal and the granny in the first half has some really laugh worthy moments. Another surprise is that the comedian has been used well for sentiment scenes also and he has given his best for the job entrusted upon him.
 
Apart from this, the idea of placing three women characters (heroine, her mother and the hero’s grandma) as opposed to villain is really interesting and appreciable. Though it is the hero who directly takes on the villain, the real problem to the villain is created by the bold attitude of these three women. But this hardly contributes to the overall impact of the film as we are drained out due to the length and predictability factors. May be this aspect would have made a better impact if more focus had been given to this.
 
Vishal fits well into the role of a good-hearted, valorous and powerful rural Samaritan who would not let go someone who has caused any form of harm to his granny or women in general. But the actor hardly gets anything to show variety as a performer and just gives what is required for the character while his hard work is evident in the action sequences.
 
Sridivya is not just an arm candy to the hero and she is a bold young girl who also has connection to the main plot of the story. She does leave a good impression with her performance. Radharavi has been wasted in a miniscule role but the veteran impresses with his gestures and body language that aptly captures a big shot of a small town. Marimuthu after a long time has acted in a positive character and he is apt in his role. Kolla Pulli Leela as the grandmother who is also like a mother to the hero is impeccable and her character aptly fulfils the requirement of sentiment and comedy that may go well with family audience. RK Suresh is menacing as the villain but his performance is let down by a predictable and regular villain character.
 
D.Imman’s songs just add up to the length of the film while a couple of them fits well into the rural milieu. Re-recording is adequate. Velraj’s cinematography is one of the big pluses of the film as his selection of tones and colours make us feel the heat of Rajapalayam and its surrounding where the story happens. Veera Samar’s Art direction is another notable plus of the film as the houses and roads look natural.
 
Verdict: Watch it for action scenes, Soori's comedy and the grandmother character