No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man - Heraclitus
I wrote the following as a reply to a friend's post in FB.
Dear Arune,
I read your posts about Mayaanadhi and thought it's a new release.
Later I googled and and found out that it was released last December.
I watched it Yesterday.
Was surprised to see that a considerable length of the film happens in Madurai, the city where I went to study M.A. They could've directly released it in Tamil too. It has well known Tamil faces and a lot of dialogues in Tamil.
G. Nagarajan, a Writer from Madurai - he is no more - once wrote that "Man is a great knave" It was almost 50 years ago. He also said that more than love it is respect that a human should have for another. And it was kind of suitable that the story starts in Madurai and returns to it time and again.
The beginning of the film was like a Tarantino Fare.
Protagonists losing a thing that is indispensable for their everyday life or job provides an interesting premise. Cycle in Bicycle Theives, Shoes in Children of Heaven, Bike in Polladhavan, Gun in 8 Thottakal.
Here it happens in reverse. He gets hold of bad peoples money by chance and tries to run away with it. Like True Romance. Only the girl here has a brain of her own.
Aparna kind of romanticizes Maathan to her friends. She says that he survived a suicide attempt in which his rest of the family succumbed. She says he is like a cat and he will somehow escape and survive. But Maathan rarely speaks any truth.
While watching these two characters I thought about that Jack from International Business, remember? And the girl he was after.
Everyone knew that he was a wreck. I'm sure now that the girl knew it too. But she fell for him, didn't she?
Girls fall for bad ass interesting characters. They may shrivel and turn back anytime. But they definitely fall. Aparna asks him whether he is still working out. Macho factor plays a role too.
Aparna comes across as a young, confident and proud woman. I thought she won't accept or would throw away the dress that Sameera brought her. But she accepted it as if it was her who gave it to Sameera and getting it back. She is also aware that she is better than Sameera by all measures but stays close to Sameera and see whether she could land an opportunity through her.
And 'Trust' is the word that finds it way into all the characters' vocabulary.
They all talk about it. In this digitally connected world where trust deficit exists everywhere.
In an office you have to cc your mail to prove that you indeed sent the mail.
In a family or office whatsapp group you have to act accordingly. You have to make your presence felt.
A Husband is asking his wife to Whatsapp everything she says or wants from the grocery just to have a proof so that she cannot change her words later.
We are connected but we are all alone. Aparna couldn't think of any one else to call in her hour of need or she has no else to call? She calls Maathan and he finally says what any guy would say to the girl that he loved but cannot marry and settle down.
I also thought maybe Aparna wanted to play mother and reform Maathan. But she had to lose a considerable amount of money and drop out of college to realize that Maathan is beyond saving.
The film also talks about how materialistic we have become. The cop from Tamil Nadu says that internet has fucked this generation from behind.
Aparna tells her mother that they do not have a say like they used to as they are not rich like they used to. She immediately opens the cover and counts the money after MC ing a wedding reception. She cannot be cheated twice. The way she licks her finger before counting the money is enough to understand that she is a no nonsense person.
A must see movie of our times.
