Meesaya Murukku Movie Review - A crowd pleaser!!!

Bharath Vijayakumar

These are changing times. I am not talking about decades put together but maybe the last decade alone. As we have been upgrading from 2G to 3G to 4G in double quick time our notion about how we approach life too could be changing as a by-product of this 'rapid' mantra. Sachin Tendulkar played close to 25 years of International cricket and we had a film made on him after his retirement. Dhoni's film got made when he was (and still is) playing for the country. We could soon possibly see a film made on a cricketer even as his ascent as a sportsman is on the way. Well why am I talking about all this? Because this Friday's release Meesaiya Murukku is a part (if not full) autobiographical sort of a film on Hip Hop Aadhi. Furthermore, it is made by the man himself and stars himself. Your reaction at this point could be any of the following – a) Well today's kids just cannot wait and have no patience. b) Wow! Way to go? Why should we wait for someone to recognize us? Only I know what I am. Your choice in most probability would have a direct relation to your age or mindset. Well this is a separate discussion. Let's get into the film now.

The first scene in the film has Vivek lecturing on the iportance and glory of Tamil. A slight anxiety did break out as I was expecting a 'Samuthirakani' type of film with more such lectures. Thankfully this was the first and last such moment in the film and it soon settles down to do what it had intended to – have its target audience clap and whistle in merry. Does it work? Going by the response in the auditorium it seemingly did. 

The best thing about Meesaya Murukku is how it carries itself as a film. At no point it tries to project itself as anything that it is not. It tries to be a fun film woven around real life incidents from the maker's life. What was most striking is that the film despite being hero centric and serving a few mass moments has also been honest in its portrayal of the protagonist. The struggles (if any) are kept minimal and hardly seem exaggerated. Everything does seem to happen quite easily to him. The passion for music too is downplayed or is narrated exactly how it has been in the maker's life. It is more about him enjoying music and trying to achieve something through this. At no place you feel that music is an integral part of the hero's life. The point the film makes too is a good takeaway. It does not define success. It wants to convey that as long as you do what you enjoy you are doing it right. Drawing a comparison with the title – if you enjoy twirling your moustache do it. You need not a have thick one to do so.

Aadhi makes a reasonable debut as an actor. He has played to his strengths and seems to know what will work for him. It is the same case as a director too. The break-up scene deserves a mention. It is treated with a certain dignity and never tries to show the girl in bad light. The jokes work in bits and pieces. The heroic scenes are cleverly downplayed by opting for a spoof like treatment.  The most heartening aspect was that there was hardly any body shamming jokes. This is actually quite something to cheer for in a film like this.

The film as a whole is tough to take a call on. It is like those numerous youtube comedies that we are bombarded with these days. They are definitely funny but how many jokes really work compared to the length of the video is a question mark. 

Bottomline:

A light hearted autobiographical film that knows what its core audience want and it does cater to them. There are glimpses of more potential here and there. Your response to the film too would largely depend on how you responded after reading the first paragraph of this review.

Rating: 2.5/5

Post Your Review and Rating Meesaya Murukku Here