Maareesan - The Shape Shifters

Maareesan
Tamil - Comedy / Drama

150 mins
Netflix

Dhayalan / Dhaya (Faahad Faasil, FaFa) is a con man who walks out of prison only to set himself up for the next one. One night, riding a stolen bike and scouting a house to rob, he meets Velayudham Pillai (Vadivelu), chained to a bed. Vela, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, tells him that his cop son has locked him up so he doesn’t drift away. He offers Dhaya money to help him escape.

On the way, they stop at an ATM. Dhaya notices Vela’s hefty bank balance and realizes this is a golden goose. He offers to take him to his destination for a fee—sparking an unforgettable road trip. A perfect setup for a buddy comedy about life, realization, and a  Meiyazhagan redux?

Maamannan first brought FaFa and Vadivelu together. The movie however was underwhelming with too little of them on screen. Maareesan promised a slice-of-life road movie with both and it delivers, though the execution falters at some critical junctures. A seasoned director would probably have handled the "philosophy" and the genre and tonal shift more seamlessly. That would have pushed this film into the  rare air of  Maharaja or Meiyazhagan. Nevertheless, director Sudeesh Shankar deserves credit for bringing Krishnamoorthy’s good story to life, while giving FaFa and Vadivelu the canvas to shine.

FaFa is on familiar ground, creating a Dhaya , who is a good mix of Prakashan (Njan Prakashan), Battery (Vetaiyyan), and Rathinavelu (Maamannan). He is magnetic onscreen—even a simple scene of him forcing himself to puke is so beautifully done.

Long celebrated as the “Vaigai Puyal” for his comic timing, Vadivelu finally gets a role to showcase his acting chops—and he is gobsmacking. Their camaraderie is the movie’s heartbeat. From FaFa confessing his thieving ways and Vadivelu dolloping philosophy, to the brilliant payoff around the ATM pin, these sequences are classics.

A special mention goes to Kovai Sarala, playing against type with dignity and grace in a small role.

Some early scenes feel repetitive, but they move the story forward. The last 80 odd minutes just fly by. Hopefully, the critical success of Maareesan inspires another filmmaker to give us the true slice-of-life drama we all want to see from these two superb actors.