By:
Settu
Shankar
Wednesday,
October
03,
2007
After
the
successful
debut
with
Thalainagaram,
director
Suraj
has
come
out
with
another
mass
entertainer
-
Maruthamalai.
The
Arjun-Vadivelu
starrer
film
is
laced
with
all
essential
aspects
to
make
it
work
big
time
at
the
box-office.
The
story
looks
to
be
a
crasser
version
of
Ajith
starrer
Kreedom
and
Vikram's
blockbuster
Saamy.
The
first
half
of
the
film
is
the
typical
Vadivelu
comedy
portion,
which
makes
the
film
more
enjoyable.
In
fact,
in
the
movie
action
king
Arjun"s
role
plays
second
fiddle
to
Vadivelu
in
the
film.
Maruthamalai
(Arjun)
is
son
of
a
retired
police
constable
(Nasser)
whose
only
dream
is
that
his
son
joins
the
Police
Force.
But
Maruthamalai
is
selected
as
a
low
level
constable
and
posted
to
a
station
in
a
violent
town,
Nachiapuram.
At
Nachiapuram
police
station,
the
Head
constable
is
'Encounter'
Ekambaram
(Vadivelu),
a
corrupt
and
typical
caricature
of
a
cop.
After
a
while,
constable
Maruthamalai
is
made
the
Inspector
of
the
station.
The
second
half
is
an
out
and
out
action
film
-
which
is
Action
King
Arjun"s
home
turf.
Nachiapuram
is
a
lawless
town
ruled
by
Maasi
(Lal),
a
man
belonging
to
a
majority
community.
He
has
not
allowed
an
election
to
be
held
there
for
the
past
20
years
as
the
government
has
made
it
a
reserved
constituency
(similar
to
the
Paapapatti-
Keeripatti
issue
in
TN).
The
higher
caste
man
does
not
want
to
be
ruled
by
an
MLA,
from
a
lower
caste!
Suryanaarayanan,
a
strict
election
commissioner,
enters
to
solve
the
problem
and
vows
to
run
elections
peacefully.
When
Maasi
tries
to
interrupt
the
election
with
his
men,
Maruthamalai
stops
him
single
handedly
and
the
polls
are
conducted
peacefully.
To
take
revenge
on
Maasi
for
doing
this,
Maasi
kills
Maruthamalai"s
father.
The
rest
is
as
predictable
–
similar
to
the
usual
Tamil
cinema
masala
formula.
Arjun
looks
very
smart
in
romantic
as
well
as
action
scenes.
For
the
first
time,
he
does
a
comedy
role
in
the
film,
which
makes
the
movie
hilarious.
No
doubt,
Vadivelu
is
the
real
hero
of
the
film
and
he
does
his
normal
comic
act
with
his
trademark
whining
and
speaking
in
broken
English.
The
scene
with
Thulukkanam
Shankar
(a
comic
dada)
is
a
fine
example
for
Vadivelu's
extra
ordinary
performance.
Nila
plays
her
glamour
role
with
ease,
provoking
viewers
with
some
sexy
costumes!
Nasser
and
Raghuvaran
have
done
the
job
perfectly.
Lal,
the
Malayalam
actor
proves
once
again
that
he
is
a
suitable
actor
for
villain
roles.
There
is
nothing
to
comment
about
in
D
Inman"s
music.
The
re
recording
tests
the
ears
in
some
parts.
There
are
few
minuses
in
the
film
like
the
regular
visits
of
powerful
ministers
and
officers
to
the
jail
where
Lal
is
imprisoned.
But
on
the
whole
the
film
has
enough
stuff
to
make
the
viewers
leave
the
theatres
with
light-hearted!
Verdict:
Enjoyable
mass
entertainment!
Credits:
Cast:
Arjun,
Vadivelu,
Nila,
Nasser,
Lal
and
Raghuvaran
Music:
D
Imaan
Story,
Screenplay,
Dialogues
and
Direction:
Suraj
Producer:
Oscar
Ravichandiran