- Date of Release: 27 September 2024
- Genre: Drama
- Language: Tamil
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Meiyazhagan
Introduction
My heart is full, it really is! There are multiple paths that lead into the new Tamil film Meiyazhagan. It is a tale of longing and love while taking a quiet trip down memory lane, filled with nostalgia. It is a tale about love and affection to the point that the other person’s identity would no longer matter. It is also a tale about amendments, second chances and redemption, all of which is packaged in what was the sweetest film of the year. And I couldn’t help but draw parallels to yesteryear’s brilliant Tamil film Anbe Sivam starring the amazing duo of Kamal Haasan and Madhavan. In that film, the story centered around seemingly different personalities with a huge generational gap, as they inflict on a journey of self discovery that is laced with philosophical undertones. In that regard, Meiyazhagan is different. While it does borrow the template of Anbe Sivam, it does not necessarily dwell into philosophies of life consciously. Yes, the philosophies are intact but the core ingredient here is love and compassion that is highly underrated in today’s times. Picture this hypothetic scenario – a man, essentially a stranger to you coming up to you and telling you that your one act of kindness completely transformed his life. This may or may not get you thinking of the deed that you may have committed knowingly or unknowingly, but think about the purity of emotions in play wherein your everyday deeds would touch so many lives without you even having an inkling of it. And further, imagine that one person passing the deed to someone else, thereby forming a beautiful chain of love and empathy. And whether or whether not we agree to this, this deed comes circling back to us in any form or person. This concept was so beautifully touched upon in the film Meiyazhagan.
Story & Screenplay
The premise of Meiyazhagan is simple – a 40 year old man is forced to revisit his hometown after 22 years of being abandoned wherein life has other plans for him. The story here is simplistic and packed with so many emotions which would gently tug the strings of your heart. And the tone of the drama is set in its first scene wherein the pain of leaving your home behind takes centerstage. The emotion is melancholy in its purest form and probably relatable to so many folks across the globe. The start here is perfect to the point that you are thoroughly invested in the drama and along with it, the journey of the protagonist who is shown to carry a burden of pain for years to follow. Yet as they say, life often gives you a second chance at times even without you realising, something that happens with the protagonist over the course of the screenplay standing at nearly 3 hours. And full credit to the makers for holding on to a range of emotions throughout the runtime that keeps you as a viewer engaged and invested in the journey of the protagonist, through and through.
I was amazed with the shifting dynamics of the setting, wherein every setting has a story to tell. This is not to say that the drama is fragmented but instead, the individual stories with respect to the setting beautifully blend into the different themes of the drama while being heavily reflective of the psyche of the protagonist Arul (Arvind Swamy). So very early on when you are introduced to the protagonist, you see the backdrop of a village amidst a grim setting that represents pathos in the life of Arul. Years later, the setting of the big city reveals a new start with a ray of hope that pours in the form of an opportunity for Arul. The next shift of the setting back to Arul’s hometown is that of nostalgia even as you see him troll through its bylanes while silently wishing to restart his life in the village. This includes a beautiful transition journey between two villages through a bus journey that is an epitome of a shift in the dynamics in Arul’s life. The wedding setup is again representative of a fresh start or so to say, new beginnings that slowly converge in the house of a stranger whom Arul meets at the wedding, and who shows a lot of affection to him.
The proceedings are engaging with loads of emotions in play which are laced with sweetness and at times being bittersweet while also briefly dabbling with traces of situational comedy. But if there was one thing that worked beautifully in the screenplay then that was the exceptional characterization. Since the entire drama unfolds through the gaze of Arul, the mysterious character of the stranger who refers to Arul as his cousin becomes all the more interesting. At the very beginning, the character seems slightly clingy and a tad too intrusive, something that Arul reflects on without having any clarity about his identity. And while the drama beautifully sheds light on the relationship that Arul shares with his sister, the focus shifts back to the character who is virtually an oblivious entity for Arul. But more and more the time that they share together, the more affectionate their bond turns out to be.
The drama has wonderful undertones of religion and philosophies of life related to love. And the latter is represented through the conversations that Arul shares with his stranger pal. The affection that is highlighted through the character of Karthi is just so heartwarming. In multiple conversations, you does touch upon the love that he has for animals and living creatures, and also for his ancestors who may have given up their lives for the land. These might be seemingly unrelated conversations but the cire of each of them is affection, something that he extends to Arul through an incident involving him. It is such a disarming feeling which in a way is also life altering given how mountains of pain that Arul seemed to carry in his heart is reduced to the ground. This, even while engulfing the viewers with such warmth that I found myself smiling away to glory with a little tear in my eye. The final 30 minutes were so pure and pious that it filled my heart with a lot of love, even with the revelation that was such a sweet moment in the film after a buildup that itself felt so affectionate and personal. Overall, the writing here is excellent and so pure with its emotions that it hits the sweet spot perfectly.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational but laced with dollops of sweetness that leave you with a feeling of warmth and love. The music is wonderful while representing the different shades in the drama so beautifully. The BGM creates an aura that is synonymous with the emotions that the drama has to offer, while enhancing the impact of so many scenes. The cinematography coupled with the colour grading was reflective of the psyche of the protagonist, and through him even the viewers were taken on an emotional ride. Some of the shots of the temple were so pure and pious that it made me fold my hands in gratitude. Some frames also were beautifully staged wherein they told a story within a story that added another layer of additions to the narrative. One word on the VFX featuring animals and birds that was top notch. To give you a perspective, the images looked so real that if the makers hadn’t disclosed the ‘CGI’ shots with a label on the bottom of the screen, I would never have guessed it. The editing is excellent and never allows any sort of lag to seep into the drama. Director C Prem Kumar who had previously directed one of my favourite love stories 96, beautifully weaves a drama filled with emotions while scoring heavily with the characterization. At this point, I am pretty sure of some incident that may have transpired in his life in the year 1996, because the same year holds a significance here too. But jokes apart, his direction is synonymous to his name wherein he packs almost every scene with love while filling you with a range of emotions along the way. The direction is brilliant here.
Performances
The performances are brilliant by the members of the cast. Devadarshini as Arul’s wife, Hema delivers a sincere and earnest performance. Swathi Konde is brilliant despite a limited screen time and she packs in so many emotions in that one particular scene with the character of Arul that is enough to make any grown up man cry. Sri Divya has a terrific screen presence and she delivers a rather understated performance. But the show belongs to Karthi and Arvind Swamy both of whom are brilliant. How do you judge the greatness of an actor? It is through the range of emotions that he possesses in showcasing his talent through varied roles. As far as Karthi is concerned, he can do a PS1/2 or Kaithi on one side and also deliver a highly sweetened performance as we see here. He has a proper character arc to play with wherein the character is slightly clingy to begin with while being supremely affable along the way, and Karthi here delivers a memorable act. I am a huge fan of Arvind Swamy who is such an underrated performer. He was steadfast in his earlier release IC 814, but here as Arul, he showcases his vulnerabilities in such a sensitive and beautiful manner. The character could so easily have been a binary one – being grumpy to begin with and jovial later on. But there are so many complex emotions that he dabbles with that makes this such a phenomenal performance of the highest order. Arvind Swamy is absolutely brilliant here in a tender little act that fills you with many emotions.
Conclusion
Meiyazhagan is probably the Best Tamil Film of 2024 for me, a drama that is centered around love in its purest form that fills you up with so many emotions and gently tugs the strings of your heart. To give you a perspective, I found myself either sporting a wide smile or wiping off my tears or both, throughout the film. Needless to say, my heart is full! Available in a theatre near you and Highly Highly Recommended!
