At the time of Mahaveeeryar’s release, some film buffs expressed confusion regarding certain unresolved aspects of the film, notably the ambiguous ending. While it offered a culmination for a courtroom case involving a king from a different era, the first case, a robbery involving Nivin Pauly’s character, didn’t get a resolution.
Now the makers have informed that they have created an alternate version of the film, currently playing in theatres. The new version, director-writer Abrid Shine tells us, is more coherent. “We have given closure for the first case in this version. In addition, we have altered the duration a little bit. We have made a few trimmings here and there, particularly in places where some law points are in English. We have made some editing there to make it more understandable.”
Abrid sees Mahaveeryar as a “straightforward” story. “I don’t get the confusion. After all, we didn’t mention any of the philosophical or political points directly. It’s all in the lower layers; if people don’t get those things, that’s fine. There is no compulsion to look at the whole thing as something ‘deep’. It’s just enough to enjoy the fun aspects of the storytelling.
The other thing that surprised me is the people who write long intellectual statements and quotes on their Facebook profiles saying this film confuses them. I don’t think the film is as confusing as the things they post. Also, isn’t this a state where everyone reads newspapers?”