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In Naan, Vijay Antony was a poker-faced outsider who doesn’t mind doing treachery and murder to find an identity of his own, even if it means stealing it from someone else. In Naan’s sequel, Salim, Antony was a poker-faced outsider who has moved away from his murderous past, and is living the life of a good doctor. And this time, the rage in him surfaces to do good deeds. In Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan, he is still called Salim, and he is still a poker-faced outsider. But this time, he is part of a covert assassin squad lead by the top-tier cops of Tamil cinema lore. How can one man do so many things, you might ask? And you would be right to question these idiosyncrasies. However, considering what unfolds in the next 120-odd minutes, this is the least of your problems.
By now, Vijay Antony has played the poker-faced outsider with a golden heart and fists of iron enough times in his career that he can sleepwalk through such roles. Unlike his earlier release of the year, Romeo, Antony returns to safe territory with Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan. Just like Naan and Salim, this film doesn’t take too much time to let us know the history of the nameless protagonist. In fact, at one point when Sowmiya (Megha Akash) asks him about his past, he starts the story that we are shown as an animated video in the opening credits, but stops short of completing it by saying, “Everyone has a past. We don’t really need to know everyone that well, right?” And it is supposed to be a moment of poignancy that allows the characters to reflect on the fleeting nature of relationships. However, this scene is bookended by too many shenanigans by the peripheral characters, and this poignancy is lost in the racket. But this lack of connection with the characters is the least of our problems.
This is a constant problem in the film, which is bombarded with so many happenings that we don’t really care about what happens to them. Oh, the police are beating the motormouth Burma (Pruthvi Ambaar), Vijay Antony’s ‘friend’ in this new place, black and blue. You feel it is deserved. Oh, there is an ego trip happening between Murali Sharma’s DSP and local bigwig and ruthless loanshark Daali (Dhananjaya). You feel it is bound to happen between two ego maniacs. But where does Salim fit into all of this? Honestly, nowhere. Oh, there is also Sowmiya (Megha Akash), who Burma likes a lot. Oh, there is Sarathkumar and Sathyaraj walking away with one of their more easier paychecks. And then, there is a cute little dog, who oscillates between being cute, and in pain because Daali’s henchmen haven’t seen John Wick.
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When you actually sit back and think about why he does all of it, you don’t have a clear picture in your head because the characters are written very superficially. They are just cardboard templates instead of living and breathing people with emotions. Burma’s mother (Saranya Ponvannan) says a lot of poignant dialogues, but it has zero impact. A bunch of random things happen in not-so-quick succession, and somehow, Salim finds himself having to use his brawn to win the battles with Daali and DSP. Oh, and there is Minister Thavapunniyam from the previous film (Salim) wanting to exact revenge on Salim. And we are asked to believe that a covert assassin group is unable to handle a Minister of State. Anyway… that isn’t the biggest problem of Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan.
If the film is titled Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan, the first time he truly steps back into the rain must have been a momentous occasion, right? Right? Yeah, right. But even if we are willing to forgo this lack of direction, and accept the happenings as is because we trust in Vijay Antony, what truly is the tipping point of Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan is the last act. Every minute of the last act is unintentionally funny and makes our eyes roll to the back of our heads. Every character makes the worst possible decision at the worst timing possible.
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A film on a silent assassin coming to a new town and finding a home with them only to be uprooted by revenge-hungry antagonists is a trope done to death. We have seen it happen across films like The Equalizer and even KGF closer to home. Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan needed a stronger emotional anchor, and more smarts in its writing. The poeticism in the title and the chapter names feel unjustified because the film just meanders without a reason. We don’t root for anyone, and every single aspect of the film feels too staged and made up. Even then, the potential for a salvage operation is buried to the ground with a shocker of an epilogue.
They often say third time’s the charm, but in the case of Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan, the third instalment in the Salim franchise is no charm but just a lot of harm due to the possibility of a fourth. Now that is a big problem, but then again, it isn’t that bad a thing, right?
Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan Movie Cast: Vijay Antony, Sarathkumar, Dhananjaya, Megha Akash
Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan Movie Director: Vijay Milton
Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan Movie Rating: 1.5 stars
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