Mersal - Once again Vijay is back with Atlee after their blockbuster Theri. And, once again I've no idea why this movie is titled 'Mersal' just like 'Theri'. First thing first, after the atrocious look in Bairavaa, Vijay looks terrific in this movie. He seems to be getting younger, ya I know this sounds cliched. But, after Theri once again he's making me to look myself and feel bad about my fitness.
For the third time Atlee has remade a classic. After Mouna Ragam, Satriyan this time he decides to go with Apoorva Sagotharargal (but it reminds many other movies as well). And, he has done his work very well to fit an ordinary revenge drama with some social message and it worked really well.
The main positive factor is Vijay, no atrocious hairdo, no irritating voice modulation. And, ya he speaks too many punch dialogues directed at the audience, which works well in this setup rather than Puli kind of film. His dance movements were terrific after some time. And, he smokes on screen after quite some time I guess. If you are wondering why this is to differentiate between the two look alike Vijay. One who smokes is Vetri, the magician and who doesn't is Maran, the doctor.
Other than Vijay only Nitya Menon gets some role and shares a good chemistry with Vijay in the 80s flashback portion. Next comes S J Surya, the villain, who was good in few scenes. The other two heroines character comes for maximum 10 mins with a song each. And, Satyaraj to listen to the flashbacks. Vadivelu is back, again still expecting a proper comeback for him, this movie doesn't have enough screen time for him.
Atlee always does well in presentation. Each and every frame was glossy and the cameraman Vishnu has hit a century on debut. Also, the screenplay was engaging enough which made me sit through almost 3 hours without any complaint. Vijayendra Prasad's touch was visible especially in the flashback portion.
And, ya this movie did remind me of many of many other hit Tamil movies. Sivaji, Ramana, Kaththi, etc., to name a few. Also, a lot of questions comes to mind. How Kovai Sarala met Maran? Vadivel met Maran? Why Vetri didn't meet his brother all these years? Why Dr Arjun didn't recognize Maran? Why wait so long for taking revenge? Has Vetri killed any other doctors before? And, that mandatory "aal-marattam" scene in the second half with the look alikes. Maran isn't a Jeevanantham, who can't fight, so that was not needed I guess.
But, the thing is none of this came to mind while watching. And, that's the success of a mass movie. Overall Mersal was a satisfying festival movie for me. It would be great if Ajith and Vijay does movies like Managaram, Vikram Vedha, but still Vijay's next step is clear (political) we can only get these and as far as Ajith's concern looks like his next is also going to be with Siva, so we better don't discuss it.
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