Exploring relationships has been his forte. If it was the trust-factor between the protagonist and his father-in-law in Komban, mother-son bonding formed the plot of Kuttipuli.
Now Muthaiya delves into the grandma-grandson bonding in his latest release Marudhu.
It is to the director’s credit that he has brought it out quite impressively, even while pepping up his screenplay with humour, action and romance. The plot however is a familiar scenario, the happenings giving one a sense of deja vu throughout.
Set in a rural milieu, the film opens with some corpses strewn in a marshy area. Appreciable is the manner in which the director towards the end links the characters and some of the earlier episodes to the killings. Meanwhile we get introduced to the crucial characters in the plot. There is Rolex Pandian (R.K.), who has rapidly risen from a small time rowdy to being the protege of Pahalwan the local bigwig. (Radharavi). With his role well fleshed out, R.K. (the villain of Thaarai Thappattai) is confident in his portrayal. There is Shankara Pandian a lawyer (Marimuthu) ,who rubs Rolex the wrong way, putting both his and his daughter Bhagyam’s life in jeopardy.
Vishal as Marudhu gets a dramatic entry. With his lungi tied high on the waist, holding its edges between his teeth (mainly in the song-dance numbers), and wielding the sickle effortlessly in the action scenes, the actor plays the hot blooded rustic to the hilt. Soory as his constant companion enlivens the scenes.
Post interval the momentum slackens, taking quite a bit of time on Marudhu’s love-life. The fights and action sequences are violent and gory befitting mood of the setting. Imman’s rustic tunes go well with the flow. It is to Muthaiya’s credit that he has crafted his women characters as bold and spirited. Like Marudhu’s outspoken grandma (Leela well cast ), who would do anything to protect her grandson.
Sri Divya with has endeared herself to audiences, her feisty Bhagyam yet another role well enacted. There is Pandialakshmi as Bhagyam’s gutsy mother who doesn’t mind putting her life in jeopardy for a cause.
These women hold the film together even as the men fight it out. Marudhu is a routine village story, but rearranged in a way far better and neater than many of the earlier rustic-based sagas.