Venkat Prabhu
Silambarasan TR, SJ Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Karunakaran, YG Mahendran
4/5
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Time loop as a fictional concept goes back decades. It has been employed many times in various international films – Silambarasan TR even lists some of them out for us in one of Maanaadu ’s meta scenes. However, it is new to Indian cinema. Venkat Prabhu ’s Maanaadu was, in fact, initially touted as the country’s first time-loop film. But its long gestation period has made it even lose out on the title of the first Tamil film to explore the concept (to last week’s Jango ).
What Maanaadu can lay claim to, though, is a star at its centre. And one with a very loyal fanbase at that. But the real success of Venkat Prabhu’s film lies in not simply being a vehicle for this star. It is a high-concept film in Tamil done right. Far too often our filmmakers take these cool ideas and surround them with so many commercial compromises, their movies inevitably sink under all that weight. Not so here. Venkat Prabhu sticks to the central plot and only provides diversions of the quirky kind that mostly add to the entertainment without detracting from the core thriller. And make no mistake, Maanaadu is just that – an entertaining thriller – not science fiction/fantasy or a supernatural movie.
STR, meanwhile, has little to do. All he needs to do is play an everyman. (The intro scene implying he is a VIP seems to have only been added for an impressive hero entry and a minor plot device – it is never expanded on later). He is just an average Joe. Only, this ordinary guy happens to be a Muslim who ends up saving the day. And that’s pretty huge for Tamil cinema, which has been curiously bereft of heroes from the community. It is also refreshing that STR’s Abdul Khaaliq, despite trying his best to do the right thing and somehow having the power to loop time with his death, is still no superman. He is not particularly brilliant; he only learns by rote. Even the one extended fight sequence that STR gets, Khaaliq wins not by being super strong or especially agile, but simply by learning his opponents’ moves through repetition (incidentally, the staging of this stunt scene is quite delectable).
I could have done without the wink-wink-nudge-nudge self-references to Silambarasan’s personal life and previous films. But as fan service goes, it was fairly mild and not too thickly laid on, so it’s a minor quibble. Another slight complaint is the slow start to the film and the choice to underline every one of the moments that are soon to be repeated ad nauseam with painstaking slo-mo shots. Fortunately, this spoon-feeding ends fairly quickly. Once the stage is set and the time loop begins, things move along briskly and, as the film progresses, Venkat Prabhu trusts his audience more and more, making for entertaining cinema that doesn’t drag its feet.
The plot in a nutshell is this: Khaaliq, who is going about his business, just helping a friend out, suddenly finds himself entangled in a plot to assassinate the chief minister and start a communal riot. He also finds himself stuck in a time loop that resets the day each time he gets killed. To break the loop he needs to stop the assassination and the consequent riot. The why of this is not important. And in fact, the compulsion to explain it is yet another of those niggles I had. I appreciated the attempt to tie this explanation to the communal harmony theme of the film (which feels mostly like lip service – though, to be honest, even that much is to be welcomed given the current atmosphere in the country), but we really could have done without that backstory.
Meanwhile, my biggest concern – that Premgi & co would be annoying distractions – proved to be unfounded. Premji doesn’t get enough screen time to test our patience. Heck, he doesn’t even register enough for us to care when he is killed in one of the loops (Silambarasan’s wailing in this scene is the real distraction, truth be told). The sore thumb in this movie is actually Kalyani Priyadarshan . Her Seethalakshmi’s ‘bubbliness’ is grating and does not fit the tone of Maanaadu at all. In fairness, Venkat Prabhu does try to weave Seetha into the plot, but the actor is just not up to the task and her characterisation doesn’t help either. Luckily, we are not saddled with a romance sub-plot featuring her. And for once, I was really glad for Tamil cinema’s vanishing-heroine-in-third-act syndrome.
The only actor who grabs our attention in Maanaadu is SJ Suryah . He’s an actor born to ham, and ham he does. Aided greatly by Yuvan Shankar Raja ’s BGM (which, unsurprisingly, is one of the film’s strengths), Suryah chews every scene he is in, and how! It is hard to take one’s eyes off him and he provides a lot of the amusement in the second half.
The real star of Maanaadu though is Venkat Prabhu. This is his film through and through. It is his writing and his filmmaking that keep us hooked for nearly 150 minutes with nary a wish to check our phones. Khaaliq tries with all his might to make sure the maanaadu (convention) does not happen in the film, but I’m truly glad Maanaadu , the movie, did happen.
This Maanaadu review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
Director: Venkat Prabhu Cast: Silambarasan, S. J. Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan, S. A. Chandrasekhar, Y. G. Mahendran, Vagai Chandrasekhar, Karunakaran, Premgi Amaren, Manoj Bharathiraja Language: Tamil
Maanaadu is not for Simbu fans. By that, I don't mean Simbu fans won't enjoy it. On the contrary, Simbu fans have finally got a film worth their time after years of waiting for their star to buck up. But this film is more for writer-director Venkat Prabhu fans or those of us who are willing to indulge the quirky, callous and unfalteringly commonplace films that he makes.
His latest outing Maanaadu is the story of Abdul Khaliq (Silambarasan) from Dubai, who gets intertwined in a plot to kill the chief minister. In the process, he gets killed, only to wake up at the beginning of the day. Khaliq is stuck in a time loop. Every time he dies, his plane lands again. How does he get out of it, does he save the chief minister, does he prevent national-level disasters makes the rest of this film.
In quintessential Venkat Prabhu fashion, the characters are superficial or lame or both. All we know about Abdul Khaliq is that he's a Muslim from Dubai. His introduction scene follows a massive buildup of a flight kept waiting, describing him as a VIP, who is more important than an MP and so on. But we never really learn why he's important or what he could do with such importance.
His friends, played by Premji Amaren in his zillionth film as the goofy frivolous lecher and Karunakaran as the clueless joker, are indistinguishable everymen. The film relies on you to 'relate' to them from your own experience. It does so little to make us connect with them that when one of them dies — and Khaliq weeps a river wailing "avan yen friend-u saar" (he's my friend, sir) — we feel next to nothing.
Kalyani Priyadarshan as Seethalakshmi is the only woman who is not getting kidnapped or being rescued from kidnappers. Her job in the film is to give cue for Khaliq to launch into his origin story (which is just more myth-making than character building). One can't be especially upset about a woman being written frivolously because in this film, everyone is.
Venkat Prabhu spends much of the first act laying his cards on the table. He wants the audience to pay attention to every little detail because the rest of Maanaadu is almost entirely of elaborate and repeated callbacks to this part. So, not only do we see mundane occurrences, the film lingers, almost waiting for the audience to check off a box that they've registered it. A child running past, a luggage wheel breaking, the airport ceiling crashing on the floor — these aren't treated as occurrences in the background. They are underlined in slow motion telling you to file away for future use.
The film wants to comment on contemporary politics and pop culture, but doesn't find a voice. So, these efforts sound like the world's most generic quips. Just referring to cash-for-votes or the unsafe Chennai airport hardly makes for commentary! At one point, Khaliq says "ellaarun manushanga thaan" (everyone is human) in response to Seethalakshmi's reluctance to tell a Muslim man about Hindu mythology seem vacuous. More so, in a film that does complex dance moves around saying the word Muslim, replacing it with the safer word 'samoogam' (community).
Maanaadu also has a lot of inside jokes, but most of them are as though Silambarasan came to set and wrote them for himself. For instance, there is an elaborate scene fat shaming someone, only to slyly tell the audience that he has lost weight. There is a 'reference' to Manmadhan (an earlier film in which he plays a serial killer), only to establish that Abdul Khaliq is trustworthy.
But, if you can survive this self-absorption, when the central conflict is introduced, Maanaadu takes off. It strings together information, little by little, allowing the audience to make sense of the event. It stages what looks like easy ways out, only to escalate the conflict slowly. The interval block makes us want to sit up and take notice. The second half of Maanaadu had all the makings of a film jumping off the cliff, but it doesn't. It hides more in shorter folds. It trusts the audience to fill in the gaps — by now, they're used to it.
What works for Maanaadu is that it's not trying to be clever. None of what Abdul Khaliq does is especially mind-blowing or even intelligent. It is the same ordinary things a common man would do when faced with dire circumstances. Khaliq hurriedly falls on the guillotine, every time his plan goes south, so he can start over. This is perhaps the only film where the hero not trying hard enough can be entertaining.
Take, for instance, the action sequence where Khaliq is attacked by men with lethal weapons. Action director Stunt Silva stages a rather enjoyable encounter where Khaliq walks into danger, without any fear of consequence, because well, he has none. He lets his attackers take a swing at him, watching them, remembering their move, dropping dead, and starting over, this time prepared for their attack. In just these few minutes, he dies and returns a dozen times, drawing out audience anticipation, which could have been boring. Stunt Silva brings in a little bit of backhanded humour to make it work.
On the other hand, the main antagonist Dhanushkodi, played by an over-the-top SJ Suryah, isn't any smart either. He meticulously counters every one of Khaliq's moves, but he is equally unresourceful and desperate. Maanaadu is entertaining not because the two leads are smart, but because they are ridiculously ordinary. The scene where Khaliq tries to manipulate his captors into killing him, while Dhanushkodi tries to keep him alive is exemplary of this ordinariness.
Maanaadu is not the best sci-fi film you'll ever see. In fact, it's hardly the genre film. It's a mainstream film that uses a sci-fi trope for its convenience. There is a scene where Khaliq swings his fingers like the Simbu of yore to invoke mass (P.S: That scene works!). Cinematographer Richard M. Nathan frames both the hero and the villain in regular mass movie fashion — you know shots of their shoes, slow motion, wearing/removing sunglasses etc. Music director Yuvan Shankar Raja stirs the buildup a notch.
Yet, in a Venkat Prabhu-esque way, Maanaadu travels the periphery of traditional Tamil cinema mass. For the most part, it works.
One of the highly-awaited upcoming projects is Venkat Prabhu’s directorial 'Maanaadu', featuring Silambarasan aka STR in the lead. Bankrolled by Suresh Kamatchi under the banner V House Productions, the film will be released on November 4 later this year, coinciding with the festive date of deepavali.
The makers of 'Maanaadu' have announced that the much-awaited trailer of this upcoming film is all set to release on October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. A few days back STR had treated his fans with a pic where he was seen in his dubbing mode and captioned the pic as, “Maanaadu Trailer on the way.”
Venkat Prabhu too took to twitter to share that the trailer is ready and posted pictures from what looked like a special screening for the cast and crew members.
And now our #maanaadutrailer is ready!! Thanks to my team!! @TUDAYKUMAR19 @venkatesanraman @dirsasikumar_p @KarthiickSarav1 and thank q @iam_SJSuryah for the surprise visit!! pic.twitter.com/Y9224AX8Dq — venkat prabhu (@vp_offl) September 30, 2021
Now, ahead of the movie's trailer release, Producer Suresh Kamatchi took to twitter to share an important update. "Our #maanaadu other languages title has been changed!! It will be revealed tomorrow along with the trailer!!" Fans took to the comments section to share their excitement and said they were eagerly waiting for the trailer and the movie.
Our #maanaadu other languages title has been changed!! It will be revealed tomorrow along with the trailer!! — sureshkamatchi (@sureshkamatchi) October 1, 2021
Apart from STR, the film features Kalyani Priyadarshan as the female lead while SA Chandrasekhar, SJ Suryah, Premgi Amaren, Karunakaran amongst others will be seen in prominent roles. Yuvan Shankar Raja composes the music for the film. Meanwhile, Silambarasan is working for a number of films back-to-back. He has Gautham Vasudev Menon's 'Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu', 'Pathu Thala' directed by Krishna of 'Sillunu Oru Kaadhal' fame and 'Corona Kumar' helmed by Director Gokul.
பிரேக்கிங் சினிமா செய்திகள், திரை விமர்சனம், பாடல் விமர்சனம், ஃபோட்டோ கேலரி, பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் செய்திகள், ஸ்லைடு ஷோ, போன்ற பல்வேறு சுவாரஸியமான தகவல்களை தமிழில் படிக்க இங்கு கிளிக் செய்யவும்
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Home » Review » Maanaadu movie review: Silambarasan, SJ Suryah outsmart each other in this roller-coaster ride aided by engaging screenplay »
Praveen's editing and Yuvan's music, too, stand out in this fun-filled film directed by Venkat Prabhu
A poster of the film
Last Updated: 06.37 PM, Dec 31, 2021
Story: A youngster, who goes to Coimbatore from Dubai to attend a marriage, gets to know that the state Chief Minister is going to be killed during a public campaign. He learns that a corrupt cop and a political leader are behind the CM's assassination plan, However, to his shock, he realizes the unfortunate act that he is stuck in a never-ending time-loop. Will he be able to rescue the CM?
Review: Though Maanaadu has been promoted as a political thriller from the time of its announcement, what made many eagerly wait for the film is the time-loop concept based on which its screenplay has been designed. The confusing, yet intriguing theory of time-loop is not new to Tamil audience who regularly watch Hollywood and other language movies.
The biggest challenge for director Venkat Prabhu was to engagingly narrate a crime thriller set against political backdrop and infuse the complex idea of time-loop in it. With a talented team of technicians and artists on board, has he pulled it off?
Abdul Khaliq (Silambarasan), who works in Dubai, boards a flight from New Delhi to attend a marriage in Coimbatore. He meets Seetha Lakshmi (Kalyani), his co-passenger and learns that she, too, is on her way to attend the same event. Upon reaching the venue, Seetha gets to know that Khaliq's plan was to kidnap the bride so as to help her elope with his friend Eswara Moorthy (Premgi).
Their friend Syed (Karunakaran) has also accompanied them. After eloping from the wedding venue, little did they know that an unanticipated incident would change Khaliq's life topsy-turvy.
He comes across Rafeeq (Daniel Annie Pope), an innocent youngster, who is being used by Dhanushkodi (SJ Suryah), a corrupt cop and Parivanthan (Y Gee Mahendra), a dangerous political leader. Khaliq gets to know that the criminal duo's plan is to assassinate the state Chief Minister Arivazhagan (SA Chandrasekhar).
But he understands that he is stuck in a bizarre time-loop, which leaves him helpless and puzzled. Khaliq experiences time-loop repeatedly, and he purposefully starts changing the incidents which occurred to him in previous loops. But he ends up making some mistakes despite him getting a hang of the time-loop concept. As if this isn't enough, Dhanushkodi, too, experiences time-loop. How are the two going to come out of it and alter their future?
Managing to narrate a gripping crime story in a thriller form with politics as its backdrop is no mean feat. In Maanaadu , there is the additional burden of incorporating the idea of time-loop which many might find it difficult to digest. However, the director has ensured that the seemingly complex concept is presented in a simple manner.
The biggest challenge while handing time-loop in a thriller flick is the repeated occurrence of events which is likely to make the audience exhausted. However, the clever screenplay engages the viewers from the word go. Though the narration takes some time to establish the backdrop and characters, it takes off once the protagonist enters the time-loop.
The performances of Silambarasan and SJ Suryah, at times, outsmart the screenplay which appears sharp and thoroughly engaging. The former pulls off the role of confused protagonist who sets out to stop the assassination of CM effortlessly while the latter entertains with his over-the-top antics and expressions.
Y Gee Mahendra's portrayal of an opportunistic politician, too, stand out while others are apt in their roles. Though Kalyani's role isn't limited to the regular heroine we come across, the characterization required better writing. The super funny conversation between Silambarasan, Suryah and Mahendra in a serious scene is a testimony to their talent. One of the highlights of the film, the sequence brings the house down, thanks to the manner in which it is staged.
Praveen's editing and Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score complement the fast-paced screenplay. Assorting repeated sequences and shots in a captivating manner for a movie based on time-loop is an uphill task, and the former does an impressive job. The action scenes are neat and convincing, while cinematography looks pleasant.
On the downside, the climax looks rushed. For a movie which handles complex situations and characters, it would have been great had the makers come up with a grand sequence which featured more drama and tension. Nevertheless, Maanaadu is a total fun ride which one expects from Venkat Prabhu and team.
Verdict: Maanaadu is an out-and-out entertainer which offers a roller-coaster ride experience to the viewers.
With Maanaadu , Venkat Prabhu imports a largely Western plot device—time loop—into our mainstream cinema. The director, ever self-aware, makes references in his latest film to Hollywood work like Groundhog Day (the mother of all time-loop films), Happy Death Day … and in his expectedly rooted way, also manages to cite Indian references like Vikramaditya-Vedalam —which I’ll admit I had never thought of as a time-loop idea previously. Truth be told, the film’s explanation for why Maanaadu ’s protagonist, Abdul Khaaliq (TR Silambarasan), experiences time-loop doesn’t add much; “Because he does!” is enough explanation, I think. And yet, I liked that this film ties in the story of Khaaliq’s birth to his identity and why, even his very purpose. Also, thankfully, the film doesn’t get too carried away with this back story and never loses sight of its very own purpose: To have fun with its premise. Director: Venkat Prabhu Cast: Silambarasan, SJ Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan
And boy, does it have fun with this time-loop idea. Every time a Tamil film adopts a seemingly Western idea, I fear that we might fail to capitalise on the inherent advantages of the idea, potentially diluting the entertainment in search of ‘commercial compromises’. And yet, Maanaadu has two stars—TR Silambarasan and SJ Suryah—and no duets, love stories, punch dialogues, or why, even fight sequences that threaten your suspension of disbelief. Venkat Prabhu reposes his faith squarely in the joys emergent from the time-loop idea and brings out an ace each time. Every time Khaaliq dies and gets reborn, the story explores a new idea. And yet, Venkat Prabhu manages to tie all these iterations and their events into a clever mystery that must be solved by Khaaliq, one step at a time.
The characters are the same, and yet, the cause-effect interplay creates new delicious situations, and associated problems, each time. After a while, the death of Khaaliq himself becomes a dark joke, and it’s fascinating to experience a story in which the protagonist, a bonafide star, gets killed over and over again. Khaaliq, a Muslim by birth, is said to have been born in a Hindu temple, and it’s intriguing that this Muslim should be the victim—or beneficiary, depending on your point of view—of the Hindu idea of reincarnation. It results in some wonderful subversion of commercial cinema tropes. For instance, where we are used to a villain fuming over the survival of a hero, we get one, Dhanushkodi (SJ Suryah), vexed by the death of the hero. Where a protagonist’s heroism gets accentuated by his survival against the odds, we get one whose heroism is defined by his willingness, and why, even his enthusiasm, to die. I might have been interested to learn how he deals with the repetitive pain of killing himself, or perhaps just the sheer difficulty of doing it to himself—but I suppose that might have resulted in a different type of film.
This film though—at whose centre there’s a political assassination—is steadfast in its refusal to sink too deep or dwell too long in existential complexities. It prioritises fun over fatality, entertainment over execution, and I do not mean this as criticism at all. Maanaadu ’s central event may be the political assassination, but its central exploration, in effortless ways, is of the two men, Khaaliq and Dhanushkodi. Both are forced to relive the same day over and over again, but where Khaaliq has agency and thrives in rebirth, Dhanushkodi doesn’t, and this drives him crazy (SJ Suryah portrays this frustration in his enjoyably exaggerated ways). Look closely at these individuals and you’ll see that while Dhanushkodi’s villainy stems from his uncommon lack of empathy and conscience, Khaaliq, in comparison, is a commoner. His heroism is not a product of super-human ability or acute intelligence or enviable physicality; he’s a hero simply because he won’t quit trying to do good. I enjoyed the simplicity of this character description. Sometimes, good is that simple.
You can identify these character differences even in Yuvan’s themes, dominated by flute influences. Dhanushkodi’s victories are punctuated by a sinister track, while Khaaliq’s actions are underscored by two tracks ( Voice of Unity and Maanaadu Theme ), both of which burst with a sense of urgency. And really, this quality of urgency is perhaps at the centre of Khaaliq’s quest. This is why as the film progresses, the urgency becomes more and more accentuated, to the point that by the end, Khaaliq is counting each second. From being a passive passenger who patiently waits to disembark from a flight, he turns into a manic runner who can’t even wait for the plane to stop.
Both actors, STR and Dhanushkodi, sell their characters really well. STR stays away from the punchlines and the finger-wagging (vestiges of which we saw even in his last film, Easwaran ), and is content to be the soft-spoken do-gooder, Khaaliq. He’s racing against time, he’s trying to devise clever plans, but at all times, Silambarasan plays the underdog in this film as he knows—and so do we—that SJ Suryah’s Dhanushkodi is cleverer and craftier. I liked that even the fistfights that Khaaliq wins are not because he’s a Tamil cinema hero blessed with inexplicable combat ability; it's simply a normal man learning from hard work and repetition. It’s a quiet statement on how excellence in any space, even in the real world devoid of time-travel ability, can be achieved: Hard work and repetition.
SJ Suryah is a charismatic presence, as always; he’s a man of dualities. He’s dark and menacing, and yet, his frustrations result in much humour. He’s constantly threatening Khaaliq, but he’s also begging. He’s a murderer who cannot murder; he’s an ambitious man imprisoned within the confines of a single day. It’s a lovely idea to tie him to Khaaliq’s routine, and it results in a terrific interval block. If I had some grouse at all, it’s over the forced explanation on how the destinies of these two men get interwoven. Again, I might have made my peace without any.
Perhaps what I most enjoyed about Maanaadu is how despite all the visceral entertainment it offers, there’s plenty of subtext as well, if you cared to look. You see that it notes how the tragedy of loss affects only when you bring in irreversability, and for someone like Khaaliq who can hit the restart button anytime, the loss of close ones, for instance, doesn’t exactly cause profound anguish. Dhanushkodi, observant and clever as always, asks, “ Seththu seththu pozhaikka vechiruvom nu unakku thimiru la? ” It’s riveting interplay between these characters.
Khaaliq’s one big emotionally indulgent scene comes only when he’s confronted with the possibility of being stuck to his present, and again, it’s a great writing decision, but perhaps his emotional breakdown might have been more affecting, had we grown to invest in Khaaliq’s friends. In this film, however, they (Premgi Amaren, Karunakaran) exist mainly in the periphery and serve mainly as comic props. Also operating fairly in the periphery is Seetha Lakshmi (Kalyani Priyadarshan), and while it’s admirable that the film doesn’t get tempted by the possibility of a distracting romance between Seetha and Khaaliq, we get a brief whiff of it in the ‘Meherezylaa’ track; thankfully, nothing comes of it. Perhaps it’s unfair to expect Seetha’s character to have more steel in a film that is centred on Khaaliq and Dhanushkodi, but surely, we can register a tiny protestation at the only notable woman in this film coming across as a bit of a pixie—which results in one character asking, “ Iva looso? ” and another suggesting, “ Pasicha biryani saapudu po .”
This isn’t to say that this film lacks social utility. It’s admirable that this mainstream entertainer looks to normalise Muslim identity and mounts opposition to anti-Muslim rhetoric and prejudice. That a mainstream actor like Silambarasan plays a Muslim protagonist is, in itself, a welcome choice. I enjoyed how this film notes that the villain, Dhanushkodi, struggles to remember Khaaliq’s name, an indication that he is likely not taking this man seriously on account of his identity. Perhaps that’s why Dhanushkodi doesn’t recognise that his life is tied to Khaaliq’s even earlier. Above all, with films drumming in the Muslim-man-is-a-killer idea for years now, it’s a beautiful twist that in Maanaadu , Abdul Khaaliq is not just a kind, good commoner, but he’s one who will go to any lengths to fight against said assassination.
I’ll also remember this film for some charming choices in writing and execution. Every writer likes to believe they are writing a ‘smart cat-and-mouse game between the hero and the villain’, but it’s easier said than done. Maanaadu accomplishes this though, and it is evidently a result of much writing work. One uproarious scene that stands for this has Khaaliq, Dhanushkodi and Paranthaaman (YG Mahendran) in a three-way shouting battle. Another scene, representative of the film’s sophisticated treatment, comes in the second half. It’s when Khaaliq is airborne with his neck aimed at a sharp nail on the floor, so he can off himself. This shot is cross-cut with a comparably slow-motion shot of Dhanushkodi watching a bullet. You expect to see the fate of Khaaliq, but instead, there’s a lovely filmmaking choice when you are taken directly to Dhanushkodi’s response. It’s impossible not to laugh out loud.
It's a worthy return to form for TR Silambarasan, who, as I said, is a bonafide star, having had to endure some tough years. My grouse with the star system has largely to do with its often-detrimental effect on ‘good cinema’ and how it seems to inhibit creative freedom by forcing in self-serving requisites that stifle experimentation. However, if stars collaborating on a project results in mainstream cinema like Maanaadu —punctuated by clever writing, enjoyable humour, progressive politics—there may just be a star system I could potentially make my peace with.
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Audience reviews, cast & crew.
Venkat Prabhu
T.R. Silambarasan
Abdul Khaaliq
Kalyani Priyadarshan
Seetha Lakshmi
S.J. Suryah
Dhanushkodi
S.A. Chandrashekhar
Arivazhagan
Anjena Kirti
Zarina Begum
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Filmmaker venkat prabhu takes a mainstream hollywood trope and converts it into a work of ‘masala’ cinema. the result we get a thrilling film in ‘maanaadu’.
Updated - November 26, 2021 10:38 am IST
Published - November 25, 2021 03:12 pm IST
Movie stills from Maanaadu
In Maanaadu , the first plot point arrives at the half-hour mark. This is what happens: amidst a sea of party cadres, a civilian takes the gun from his shoulder bag and pulls the trigger, aimed at the Chief Minister of the State. He kills the CM in a single shot from what appears to be a distance of at least 100 metres from the podium.
Let’s assume that the civilian is an unwilling participant and all of this is orchestrated with careful precision by a third party of superior force. Even if we were to go by that logic, the probability of killing the Chief Minister in the first shot is a one in a hundredth scenario. In another film, this probability would have been a worrying factor and probably absurd too. But in Maanaadu , the absurdity of events is the fun; you derive pleasure from the hero Abdul Khaaliq’s (Silambarasan) frustration of being caught in a time-loop, where events go round and characters talk in circles. And the chewable bit for the audience is the lived experience of having sat through the sequences again and again; like a merry-go-round but one manned by someone who seems to know the machine in and out.
It is not fair to call the events in Maanaadu absurd. These are smartly-written and wonderfully put together by editor Praveen KL; it is as much a writer’s film as it is editor’s. But to get to the main ‘plot’, you will have to cross the bridge of fanservice, which, too, gets an updated treatment here. Like for instance, the film inserts the Manmadhan theme at a certain point, perhaps, to massage the late coming fans — but, at the same time, it seems to acknowledge the political incorrectness of that film in the said scene where Seethalakshmi (Kalyani Priyadarshan) suspects Khaaliq of a creepy stalker. There is also a fat joke but on Simbu himself. It begs us to ask this: Is Simbu willing to correct the several wrongs of the past? It’s hard to say. But it sure is a fine step forward.
Abdul Khaaliq finds himself in an infinite loop of time where if he dies, he wakes up and the sequences repeat themselves. Think of Source Code . On paper, Venkat Prabhu seems to have had two issues a) how do you break the complexity of the screenplay in a language understood by the ‘mass’ audience and b) how different should each component of the screenplay be designed, to escape from familiarity. If you are going to present a high concept film without compromise, the conventional audience is going to reject it. So, how do you give them a sweet pill? Venkat Prabhu, who tries to toy within the conventions of genre, like he did in Mass Engira Masilamani of which I’m a fan, does something brilliant.
He takes a mainstream Hollywood trope and converts it into a masala film, thereby making the final product look refined. Full disclosure: I adore filmmakers who are unapologetic for the liking of masala cinema. Part of the reason why Maanaadu is thrilling is because, in essence, it is good masala that hides behind the facade of time-loop.
It’s masala because usually, in a film that deals with time as a concept of subversion or inversion, it is usually the hero who has to triumph and find an exit statement. But here, Venkat Prabhu adds another layer to the loop and we get a Catch Me If You Can kind of a cat-and-mouse game between Simbu and SJ Suryah (the film exploits his over-the-top performance for its own good). Suryah is called Dhanushkodi...it doesn’t seem like a happy coincidence at all. The first half ends on a bang — literally — and I saw myself reading a news report about a possible Bollywood remake already.
Three fourths of Maanaadu is constructed around a political event involving the Chief Minister (SA Chandrasekhar). While the film may not claim to be overtly political, it does not refuse to take a stand either. If you dig its surface deeper, it is about Islamophobia. Some of the (real) events mentioned are reconstructed to deliver a statement about today’s communal politics.
But it does suffer from the trouble of taking WhatsApp forwards seriously, when Seethalakshmi tries to give Khaaliq and audience a plausible explanation for time-loop as a concept. It is as pretentious as Christopher Nolan’s fans claiming Interstellar to be a stellar work of science and fiction. We also get a backstory about Khaaliq’s mother who was rescued by a Hindu family during the communal riots right after the Babri mosque demolition. This is as ‘safe’ as Venkat Prabhu’s short film about the Hindu-Muslim riots.
Maanaadu is the latest addition in a, hopefully, long list of films where the idea of ‘hero’ is changing for the better. Consider this: a Tamil cinema star never dies. This is a given clause even in our masala cinema’s rulebook. But here, we have a star in Simbu willing to let himself die multiple times and in multiple forms for the larger good. Exciting times ahead?
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Critics: 7 Panel: 0 User: 1010
Overall: 4.0 from 1017 users
Synopsis/Plot : STR lands in Coimbatore from Dubai, he is here to attend one of his friend's wedding. Post that, the hero is forced to murder the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and eventually he is being encountered by the Police for the crime he committed. But he survives by getting stuck in a time loop. What's the purpose behind this complexity, how the characters evolve, how the happenings change in every loop, and finally where it ends forms the remaining story
Director : Venkat Prabhu
Music Director : Yuvan Shankar Raja
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Worth watching, even in loops.
The strain to convey a high concept in the easiest possible way has paid-off as the film is bound to cater to all class audiences. Complex stuff is smartly simplified here with apt sequences. The choice of scenes is very interesting, the screenplay is very faithful to the treatment and at the same t... (more)
Source: Aswhin Ram, MovieCrow
A Venkat Prabhu Politics and this is not a film that has superficial politics. It speaks about the discrimination that muslims face inside India, and also questions the tag of terrorists that surround the community. Venkat Prabhu and STR don't hold back anything and boldly question the stereotype wh... (more)
Source: Review Board, Behindwoods.com
The writing is sharp, just giving us the information we need to understand what's going on in the film, without overstretching the repetition. The glass from the airport roof falls the very first time Khaliq steps out; watch out for how Venkat Prabhu brings it back towards the end. Though Simbu gets... (more)
Source: Sowmya Rajendran, The News Minute
Maanaadu is the latest addition in a, hopefully, long list of films where the idea of 'hero' is changing for the better. Consider this: a Tamil cinema star never dies. This is a given clause even in our masala cinema's rulebook. But here, we have a star in Simbu willing to let himself die multiple t... (more)
Source: Srivatsan, The Hindu
If you take out the time loop angle, Maanaadu is a proper commercial cinema but the sci-fi element has only amplified the entertainment value although it tests our patience in the initial few scenes. For example, the pre-intermission action sequence of Silambarasan TR is a superb stretch and adds so... (more)
Source: Moviebuzz, Sify.com
Maanaadu offers more reasons to celebrate it. In particular, SJ Suryah�s performance, which brings the circus to the town. He draws genuine laughter with his reactions to mind-boggling events. And also he knows exactly what is expected of him and he delivers it perfectly. The editing of the movie is... (more)
Source: Manoj Kumar R , Indian Express
Maanaadu marks a welcome return to form for both Venkat Prabhu, who is at his inventive best here, and Silambarasan TR, who seems to have regained the energy and charisma that made him a beloved star. You instantly believe the fact that Khaliq has managed to figure out that he is in a time loop beca... (more)
Source: M Suganth, Times Of India
No. | Song Title | Lyric Writer | Performer(s) | Listen here | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | “Meherezylaa ” | Madhan Karky | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Rizwan, Raja Bhavatharini |
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இந்த 2021 ஆம் வருடத்தில் மிகவும் எதிர்பார்க்கும் திரைப்படங்களில் ஒன்று மாநாடு.
இயக்குனர் வெங்கட்பிரபு,சிம்புவை வைத்து இந்த 'மாநாடு' படத்தை இயக்கி முடித்துள்ளார். இந்த படத்தின் பின் தயாரிப்பு பணிகள் முழு வீச்சில் நடந்து வருகிறது. இந்த படத்தை தயாரிப்பாளர் சுரேஷ் காமாட்சி தயாரிக்கிறார். இந்த படத்தின் போஸ்டர், முன்னோட்டம், முதல் சிங்கிள் பாடல் வெளியாகி நல்ல வரவேற்பை பெற்றது. டைம் லூப் பாணியில் இந்தப்படம் உருவாகி உள்ளது.
சிம்புவுக்கு ஜோடியாக கல்யாணி பிரியதர்ஷன் நடிக்கிறார். இவர்களுடன் எஸ்.ஜே. சூர்யா, எஸ். ஏ. சந்திரசேகர், பிரேம் ஜி அமரன் உள்ளிட்டோர் நடிக்கின்றனர். இசையமைப்பாளர் யுவன் சங்கர் ராஜா இசையமைக்கிறார். இந்த படத்தின் எடிட்டிங்கை பிரவின் K.L கையாள்கிறார். ரிச்சர்ட் எம் நாதன் ஒளிப்பதிவு செய்கிறார்.
இந்த படம் வரும் நவம்பர் 25 ஆம் நாள் வெளியாக உள்ளது. அதனை முன்னிட்டு படத்தின் இசை வெளியீட்டு விழா விரைவில் நடக்கும் என்றும், தேதி பின்னர் அறிவிக்கபடும் என்றும் தயாரிப்பாளர் சுரேஷ் காமாட்சி அறிவித்துள்ளார்.
Happy update: we r ready for our audio launch soon. Wl inform the date asap. Stay connected. ❤️ u all. — sureshkamatchi (@sureshkamatchi) November 9, 2021
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Maanaadu (aka) Manaadu review. Maanaadu (aka) Manaadu is a Tamil movie. K.Karunakaran, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Premgi Amaren, S.A.Chandrashekar, Silambarasan TR, SJ Suryah, Vaagai Chandrasekhar, Y Gee Mahendran are part of the cast of Maanaadu (aka) Manaadu. The movie is directed by Venkat Prabhu. Music is by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Production by Suresh Kamatchi, V House Productions, cinematography ...
Maanaadu Movie Review: Critics Rating: 4.0 stars, click to give your rating/review,A Muslim man, who is stuck in a time loop, has to stop a political rally from taking place in order
The trailer of the film was released on October 2 and two-minute-long trailer gave a glimpse into Venkat Prabhu's political sci-fi thriller which deals with the concept of time loop. The trailer ...
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With Maanaadu, Venkat Prabhu imports a largely Western plot device—time loop—into our mainstream cinema. The director, ever self-aware, makes references in his
This page hosts videos on current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, movies, sports, business, leaders and personalities, in the form of interviews, shows, reviews, games, documentaries, debates and discussions. Content caters to Tamil speaking community world wide, with primary coverage on Tamil Nadu & Chennai.
Once the stage is set and the time loop begins, things move along briskly and, as the film progresses, Venkat Prabhu trusts his audience more and more, making for entertaining cinema that doesn't drag its feet.Khaaliq tries with all his might to make sure the maanaadu (convention) does not happen in the film, but I'm truly glad Maanaadu, the movie, did happen.
Maanaadu is entertaining not because the two leads are smart, but because they are ridiculously ordinary. The scene where Khaliq tries to manipulate his captors into killing him, while Dhanushkodi tries to keep him alive is exemplary of this ordinariness. Maanaadu is not the best sci-fi film you'll ever see.
Behindwoods Tv trailers other videos. movie reviews Web Series Reviews song reviews release expectation. ... Fans took to the comments section to share their excitement and said they were eagerly waiting for the trailer and the movie. Our #maanaadu other languages title has been changed!! It will be revealed tomorrow along with the trailer!!
Review: Though Maanaadu has been promoted as a political thriller from the time of its announcement, what made many eagerly wait for the film is the time-loop concept based on which its screenplay has been designed. The confusing, yet intriguing theory of time-loop is not new to Tamil audience who regularly watch Hollywood and other language movies.
Maanaadu Movie Review: A riveting take on time loop underlined by clever writing. This film, that mounts opposition to the vilification of Muslims, is a smart entertainer, devoid of 'commercial compromises'. With Maanaadu, Venkat Prabhu imports a largely Western plot device—time loop—into our mainstream cinema.
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Audience Member The story and acting was good Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/14/24 Full Review Audience Member Time loop in a very simple way and succeeded. SJ Surya and BGM for him ...
Maanaadu (aka) Manaadu is a Tamil movie with production by V House Productions, direction by Venkat Prabhu. ... Movie Reviews; Song Reviews; ... Behindwoods.com @2004-2021 ...
Maanaadu (transl. Public Conference) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language science fiction political action thriller film directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by Suresh Kamatchi.The film stars Silambarasan, leading an ensemble cast which includes S. J. Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan, S. A. Chandrasekhar, Y. G. Mahendran, Karunakaran, Premgi Amaren, Aravind Akash and Anjena Kirti.
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Maanaadu is the latest addition in a, hopefully, long list of films where the idea of 'hero' is changing for the better. Consider this: a Tamil cinema star never dies. This is a given clause ...
Maanaadu FDFS Review - Worth Watching, Even In Loops!Ashwin RamMaanaadu is a Political genre film directed by the trendy filmmaker Venkat P ... And, the climax could have been better as it felt it wasn't as strong and enjoyable as the rest of the movie. Cast STR stays focused throughout, he gets his cheerful moments but that's all blended ...
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Maanaadu Tamil Movie - Overview Page - Maanaadu is a 2021 tamil action drama film directed by Venkat Prabhu starring Silambarasan Rajendar, S J Surya, S.a. Chandrasekhar, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Premji Amaren, Manoj Bharathiraja, Daniel Annie Pope, Y. G. Mahendra, Karunakaran , Aravind Akash in lead roles. The movie is produced by V House Production and musical score by Yuvan Shankar Raja.
Silambarasan TR Maanaadu Movie Audio Launch Update from Producer Suresh Kamatchi. ... Movie Reviews; Movie Previews; Song Reviews; Ranking . Top Movies at Box office; Current Top Albums; Upcoming Movies; ... Everything about Tamil Movies, Tamil Actors, Tamil Actresses & Kollywood . Behindwoods.com @2004-2021 ...
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