A REMAKE of Rajinikanth’s old hit by the same name, Mappillai has Dhanush reprising the role of the street smart youth who takes on his arrogant dominating mother-in-law and brings her to heel. Paired with him is the chubby Hansika Motwani in her debut Tamil film. And playing his mother-in-law is Manisha Koirala. The Suraaj- Dhanush team’s earlier outing Padikkathavan was a fairly enjoyable affair. But this remake product compares in no way to its earlier version, falling short on all fronts.
The altercation between Rajeshwari and son-in-law Saravanan is the mainstay of the story. But here it lacks the punch and fizz of the original. For the uninitiated here’s the story in brief.
Saravanan, a middle class youth, had fallen in love with Gayatri, daughter of business tycoon Rajeshwari.
Rajeshwari agrees to the love match, assuming that Saravanan would be a meek son-in-law, who can be played like a puppet.
But Saravanan has another side, and it’s a game of one-upmanship that follows.
Dhanush performs with his usual easy nonchalance. But comparisons are inevitable and fitting into his father-in-law’s shoes is no easy task. It’s difficult to relate to the motherdaughter team of Manisha and Hansika. With poor lip sync, and looks that didn’t belong here, the duo are clear misfits in the whole scenario.
Hogging most of the footage is Vivek, the film opening with a long comedy track on him and his cronies. With his weird look and accent, the actor is a painful sight to watch most of the time. It’s while masquerading as JP to help out Saravanan, that the actor provides some fun moments.
The remaking of an old hit after decades provides an opportunity for the new filmmaker to adapt it to modern sensibility, and to make it fresh and appealing to the new audience.
Suraaj has lost out on that. He has brought in some minor changes, but nothing that works to the film’s advantage. Mappillai is a lazy remake, lacking the magic of the original.