Mayakkam Enna

Selvaraghavan is back in his elements with ‘Mayakkam Enna’, after the dismal outing with ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’, doing what he does best; strapping us on to an emotional roller-coaster, where human relationships are tested at every twist and turn.

Mayyakka Enna has two parts. A struggling “genius” who has to constantly scream back at the world that he’d rather be a loser at what he loves (Photography) than sell his passion to be a “success” in life. Then, there is the travails of a Woman who is tested by the very Man she is trying to protect, when PTSD(after a near-fatal fall) makes a devil out of him.

They are not alone here. Four other friends make the journey with them. Friends you’d kill for. A friendship so sweet, it is almost a distraction to the main story, in a very nice way.

Somewhere between these two worlds Selva manages to weave human strengths and weaknesses at friendship, love, betrayal, sacrifice, persistence and redemption. Selva does all this with such ease and freshness, you just can’t help but gasp at the guy’s talent, both as a writer (shades of ‘A Beautiful Mind’ & ’7/G’, yes) and a director.

Dhanush is by now a veteran at playing roles that call for channeling inner turmoil without going over the top, in the name of “acting”. Telugu glam-doll Richa Gangopadhyay is revelation here. She pulls off a commendable performance with a character that starts out with heavy shades gray, but turns up being something else.

G V Prakash’s background score elevates the mood of the film. No song is mis-placed or unwelcome. Ramji’s cinematography is the backbone of the movie ’cause “photography” is the theme running all through Mayakkam Enna.

Many in the Theatre seemed upset about the later part of the movie, but I disagreed with them. Don’t go in expecting a buildup to the “climax”, you’d see ‘Mayakkam Enna’ for what it truly is.