'Maareesan' movie review: Fahadh Faasil, Vadivelu salvage this slow-burn thriller

Khaleej Times

26-07-2025

Maareesan begins with an intriguing sequence of a rat that's let out of its trap and scurries inside a room — only to find a python. Director Sudheesh Shankar uses this sequence to establish that there are snakes and rats among us, inviting us into a guessing game that keeps us engrossed for the most of its 152-minute run time. And that is no mean feat, despite some stumbles.
We're soon introduced to Dhayalan (Fahadh Faasil), a petty crook who's just been released from prison. He is soon back in action, stealing a smartphone from a temple and a bike from a movie-hall without fuss. Dhayalan is also a pragmatist: he beats the retreat when an alert commuter gives him a stern glare. Faasil channelises his characteristic humour, sarcasm and street-smarts that reminds you of his iconic role from the 2017 Malayalam crime drama Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. Yet, in your mind, you're harking back to the opening sequence, asking yourself whether he's is the rat or the snake.
He enters a house to pilfer its valuables when he comes face to face with Velayudham Pillai (Vadivelu), an Alzheimer's patient. Their opening exchange is one filled with humour, and a deal gets struck out of exasperation, after which the movie kicks into top gear. Hat-tip to V Krishna Moorthy, for dialogues littered with humorous wordplay.
Dhayalan and Pillai soon set off on a road-trip across Tamil Nadu. The difference between them couldn't get starker, and that makes for compelling cinema. One's trying to escape his past; the other is losing his future. One bursts out in words, as in a river in full spate; the other's sedate like a still pond. Maareesan 's makers must be congratulated for putting an Alzheimer's patient as the protagonist without the fuss, sympathy and pathos. The condition is explained as not what Suriya suffers in Ghajini (2005) but almost like Sridevi in Moondram Pirai (Sadma). It's a treat to watch one of Tamil cinema's celebrated comedians not get mined for easy gags.
'Life must be pretty easy for you,' Dhayalan says. 'You can commit any crime and not have memories of it.' Pillai's response comes almost as a punch to the gut: 'What's life if there are no memories?' Yuvan Shankar Raja does well to punctuate the scene with silence and no background music. The duo ride past lush, green fields, run into a goat and smooth-talk out of the situation and break out into an impromptu rendition of Aaha inba nilavinile, a song from the 1957 epochal hit Maya Bazar. There are passing meta references to Vadivelu's Madurai origins and Faasil as the master actor. Kalaiselvan Sivaji's cinematography ensures you're looking at a video of Tamil Nadu tourism, highlighting its beauty.
It feels like the Kamal Haasan, Madhavan-starrer Anbe Sivam met the Steve Martin drama Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Importantly, Faasil and Vadivelu bring their A-game to the fore and you're left spellbound. Maamannan (2023) had the two in opposing camps, but here they're together. They hit it out of the park with their earthy and authentic portrayals. There's little to dislike. A stage drama that renders Ilayaraja's yesteryear hit Nethu oruthara oruthara paathen dovetails into the narrative seamlessly. Yet, you keep wondering that something's gotta give… and the rat and snake.
Something does give, during the interval block, or in the lead-up to the interval, when what seems like a slice-of-life drama enters thriller territory. And that's when Maareesan mis-steps.
The second half ditches everything it had built in the first half and goes in for a different tone. You'd be forgiven for rubbing your eyes and wondering if you entered the wrong theatre. It shifts gears, yes, but the shift feels too abrupt. A bulging flashback that could have done with some trimming, police praising vigilantes and a perfunctory twist in the end. If you were wide-eyed with wonder until the interval, you'd turn wide-eyed with disappointment in the second. The routines and formulae that Tamil cinema was beholden to over the decades return with a vengeance. And as a viewer, all you can do is sigh. A twist in the end saves the proceedings a bit, as Faasil and Vadivelu hold it all together. The character Maareesan from the Hindu epic Ramayana is a master of disguise, but in the movie you wish the disguise was limited.