Synopsis: After 22 years away, Arul returns to his hometown for his sister’s wedding ceremony and encounters a guy out of the blue who showers him with love. Arul somehow fails to recognise him, though the guy knows Arul very well. Over time, the two build a unique relationship.
Review:
We hardly see male actors being vulnerable with each other in mainstream cinema. It is also rare to experience films that are built only by conversations. Prem Kumar’s ‘Meiyazhagan’ comprises these elements. There are so many ways in storytelling and one has the liberty to tell stories in whichever way they want to. So nothing against the genre ‘conversational drama’, but there are a lot of cliches in the film – the elephant in the room – that hold it back from becoming a ‘feel-good’ one. But before addressing that, let’s talk about the positives of Meiyazhagan.
What makes Meiyzahagan special
The perks of having a personal connection or feeling with a person or an inanimate object are often rejuvenating; nevertheless, they can also leave you devastated, and that’s what we witness in Arul’s (Arvind Swamy) flashback. It easily upsets us when the circumstances push Arul out of his hometown. The drama is so intense along with Govind Vasanth’s touch. It’s very important to make this scene work, as the film completely lies on the connection between Arul and his hometown, ‘Thanjavur’.
Later, when Arul arrives at his sister’s wedding ceremony, there’s a beautiful interaction between him and one of the female characters in the film. She feels excited upon seeing Arul after many years, and not just we see her bragging, but also her unexpressed desire over Arul. We understand that she has been through great hardship and all she wants is a good human connection. This scene in particular seems very real and leaves us with many questions.
The film takes an interesting turn when we are introduced to the character played by Karthi. He is funny and innocent, but a bit annoying to Arul. But later, we understand that Karthi’s love bomb is more than just suffocating. The bromance the two men have is something we haven’t seen for a long time. Both display a mixture of emotions when they have a long conversation about their childhood, and they even disclose things they’ve been hesitant to share, highlighting the warmth they have for each other. The long bicycle ride makes their bond stronger than ever. It is heartwarming to watch men building relationships out of emotional intimacy.
What’s more interesting here is that throughout the time, Arul has no idea about Karthi, even though Karthi seems to know him very well. For Arul, Karthi is a complete stranger; yet, he becomes buddy-buddy with him. Arul manages to stay pretentious of knowing him but he feels wrong about it. He even feels undeserving to experience Karthi’s love and so do we. Yet, there’s something that stops us from enjoying this thread wholeheartedly.
What holds the film back
We can’t fully enjoy Meiyazhagan because, as mentioned earlier, it has many annoying cliches, and we must tolerate a lot while watching them – the elaichi in the biryani is too much. Elements such as overdoing of sentiments, unnecessary political ideas, and the Jallikattu reference, push the film off track. Let us discuss more about this.
In no way are the above mentioned elements in line with the film’s core idea. Meiyazhagan can function very well without them, but don’t know why Prem Kumar has thought the opposite.
The Jallikattu reference contradicts with the film’s idea of emotional nudity. The so-called ‘sport’ is the definition of human arrogance – not something to be proud of. None can take away the presence of class and caste in it; additionally, there’s also ‘bull tormenting’. This old school practice has also been a way to showcase one’s masculine trait. Having said that, why would a film that encourages vulnerability and empathy endorse something like Jallikattu, which is the exact opposite of that ? The reinforcement of old ideas not only damages the film but also us. The early prolonged interaction between Arul and his sister feels eternity. Showcasing the pictures of revolutionary leaders completely looks artificial. It’ll be better if filmmakers stick more on the story, rather than on ‘ideological positioning’.
The idea of Meiyazhagan is great and the genre is welcoming. Though there are scenes in the film that display raw emotions and emphasize on human connection, the archaic cultural narrative lets it down. In the end, Meiyazhagan tries to glitter, yet falls short.
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