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Meiyazhagan Movie Review: At one point in Meiyazhagan, Arulmozhi (Arvind Swamy), who is returning to his hometown after 22 years, meets his sister Bhuvana (Swati), who he loves dearly. He is seeing her in person for the first time in all these years. He has returned home for her wedding. When he gives her a box filled with jewellery as a gift, she insists that he helps her wear it then and there. Now, you know how crowded Indian wedding receptions can get. People are standing in line. They are impatient. They just want to give the gift, take a customary photograph, wish the couple, and go have dinner. But they have to wait for Bhuvana to carefully open each of the wrapped boxes, save the wrapping paper, admire the jewellery, and wait for Arul to put it on her. The impatience and incredulity of the crowd slowly dissipates into a moment of understanding and tears as they see Arul sit on the floor, place Bhuvana’s leg on his lap, and tie the silver anklet around her ankle. She tears up. He tears up. They tear up… and unwittingly, right on cue, we tear up. In many ways, the people who were witness to the long-drawn gesture of love between the siblings are the representatives of Meiyazhagan’s audience. As the characters in the film indulge in long bouts of conversations, which might just seem like stretches of nothingness, a sense of ‘Why am I watching this?’ might seep in, but when Premkumar finally lands the punch of the scene, we are with the film and the emotions it wants to convey. That is exactly why C Premkumar’s Meiyazhagan is a terrific follow-up to the filmmaker’s iconic debut film, 96.
In the aforementioned scene, Karthi, who plays a nameless character in Meiyazhagan, is in the background of the narrative allowing Arvind Swamy’s Arul to take over the scene. This aspect of his performance is the biggest strength of Meiyazhagan because he might seem like the soul of the film, but never once does he make us forget that he is playing the supporting character in Arul’s search for identity. It is a beautiful dichotomy, and Karthi is perfect as a person who can not just sway a crowd to sing his tunes, but get lost in it if required. Karthi is terrific in a role that might seem like the stereotypical village bumpkin with a heart of gold. However, the earnestness of his performance, and the measured naivete in his character ensures we are never laughing at him, but only connecting with him. Arvind Swamy is the perfect foil for Karthi, and it is interesting how his performance gets exponentially better when he is feeding off the energy of his co-star. We saw him do the same in films like Thani Oruvan and Bogan, and in Meiyazhagan we see an Arvind Swamy we don’t often see.
Premkumar gets a lot of things right in Meiyazhagan, especially the setting of the film, the flow of the narrative, and most importantly, the casting. Veteran actors like Rajkiran and Ilavarasu might just be appearing in a few scenes, but they exude a lived-in sense of warmth. The same holds good for Devadarshini, Karunakaran, Jayaprakash, and Raichal Rebecca, whose sheer presence adds a lot of weight to wonderful characters that say a lot without saying much. Apart from Karthi and Arvind Swamy, Meiyazhagan offers Saran Sakthi and Sri Divya the chance to reiterate to the discerning audience that they are compelling talents, and both these actors lap it all up.
Honestly, Meiyazhagan isn’t an easy watch. We are so tuned to expect a twist here, and a turn there that the film’s stillness akin to a river in the night, takes some time to get used to. The central conceit of the movie is based on the feeling of suffocation that comes from receiving unbridled and unconditional love. Receiving love is an art, and Meiyazhagan wonderfully explores this emotion. However, this wonderful exploration also means that Meiyazhagan, at times, makes us feel like an audience at a therapy session. Do we intervene and ask them to cut to the chase? Do we walk off, and give them their space? Or should we just drop in next to them, take one of their mud pots and pour ourselves a beverage, and talk about our own problems?
Essentially, there is so much time to think that we are often going off on tangents before returning to the narrative. This time also makes us wonder if we are really invested in Arulmozhi’s journey to understanding himself. Does the connection to his childhood home really affect us so much? Honestly, I cared more about Karthi’s character finding his place in the world than Arulmozhi understanding that home is where the heart is. But it doesn’t mean Arulmozhi’s journey isn’t fascinating, but this story keeps us at an arm’s length because the harrowing feeling he feels about the idea of ‘home’ doesn’t always get translated.
What really grounds Meiyazhagan then is Karthi’s character. It is his life with Nandhini (Sri Divya), his connection with his prized bull Dhoni, his relationship with nature, his revolution, his idea of identity, his drunken shenanigans, his naivete, his innocence, his smile, his laugh, his tears that carry a lot more weight. It is mainly due to the writing too because it is through his life that Arul gets clarity about his own, and it is imperative that this gets explored better. More importantly, Meiyazhagan is an exercise in understanding the reality and importance of conversations.
Considering the film unfolds over a night, and there are a lot of conversations that happen between the characters of Arvind Swamy and Karthi, points to the makers for organically shifting the locations to accommodate the different themes. The brilliant work of cinematographer Mahendran Jayaraju shows us Thanjavur in a new light, and makes us fall in love with the bylanes of Needamangalam. The visuals are never flashy, even when showcasing the night sky in its splendour, and a flaming evening in its quiet fury. Similarly, composer Govind Vasantha, who did a stellar job in 96, continues right from where he left off. The composer understands the tone of a Premkumar film, which is essentially long notes of silence interspersed with moments of understated brilliance.
Unlike an Anbe Sivam, which was about two contrasting individuals finding the importance of home and companionship, Meiyazhagan isn’t about wanting to facilitate a change. It is more about giving an insight into how it doesn’t take too much to be kind. It also does a good job of asking people to let go, and ask for help. Watching Arul figure out the ways of his hometown after transforming into an urban person is a delight because it reminds us that uprooting the self to move to greener pastures might be the most common thing done by people since forever, and yet it leaves a distinct feeling in all our minds. It is all about Hiraeth, I guess.
In a constantly evolving world that asks people to strive and survive instead of reflect and thrive, the need for a constant is paramount. How long can one run? Why is one running? Where are we all running to? Where are we all running from? Why are we running? When we finally stop running, do we even have answers to all these questions? Of course, not everyone is privileged enough to take a sabbatical, and go on an introspective journey to find the self. But it is important to take a break to smell the flower, drench in rain, smile at a stranger, make playful faces at a random baby in a queue, and have enough juice to continue the drivel the next day. It is almost like Premkumar and team Meiyazhagan have tricked you into sitting in your seat for a solid 3 hours, conjure up an alternate timeline where you are living your best life, juxtapose incidents of your own life on to the screen, and find a sense of catharsis about finding your way back home. Meiyazhagan is the cinematic equivalent of that break in the journey of life. It doesn’t have to take you anywhere, but it does, and that’s why Meiyazhagan is a really special film.
Meiyazhagan Movie Director: C Premkumar
Meiyazhagan Movie Cast: Arvind Swamy, Karthi, Sri Divya, Rajkiran, Devadarshini
Meiyazhagan Movie Rating: 3.5 /5
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