Madharaasi Movie Review:

It is a silent night, and something really huge is expected to unfold. The cops are ready, and a huge consignment of guns is being transported. A nefarious plan to make Tamil Nadu the ‘Gun Capital’ of India is underway. The top brass of the police have surrounded the trucks. But things go awry. The big dog among the cops, Officer Prem (an assured Biju Menon), has his binoculars trained on one man who is nonchalantly dismantling people in his way. His mere presence is unnerving, and everyone there knows that the fight would be one-sided. And nope, that is not the introduction of Sivakarthikeyan’s Raghu, but Vidyut Jammwal’s Virat, the primary antagonist of Madharaasi. In contrast, Raghu just walks into the frame, gearing up to drunkenly dance and sing to the crowd about his love failure. This is quite a ‘different’ start to a film, but one that is absolutely in tune with whatever follows in this mad ride that hopes you have faith in the filmmaker to steer things home safely, even if it hits a few roadblocks on the way. And for the man who made films like Dheena, Ramana, Ghajini, Thuppakki, and Kaththi, Madharaasi might just be a reminder that he still has it in him. 

Director: AR Murugadoss

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Vidyut Jammwal, Rukmini Vasanth, Biju Menon

At one point in Madharaasi, there is a split-screen scene that is reminiscent of that iconic pre-interval sequence in Thuppakki. There are multiple locations, people with guns, firing almost at the same time, but the results are different. In many ways, the film is like a showreel of Murugadoss’ greatest hits, but with just the right kind of subversion to give us the feel of witnessing something that might not be new, but it is definitely spruced up and refurbished. Similarly, we also see a Ramana reference being dropped, but that has more to do with Sivakarthikeyan’s comic timing. And it is between these two worlds that Madharaasi oscillates with mostly convincing results. 

Just like Murugadoss’ previous films, the antagonists exist for a solid reason. And this time… it is to seed gun violence in the ‘peaceful state of Tamil Nadu.’ And just like Murugadoss’ previous films, barring the ones with Vijay, the reason for the protagonist to stand by the side of justice and give it his all for the cause isn’t something really profound. The reason is a woman… Malathi (A wonderful Rukmini Vasanth). Raghu is nursing a heartbreak and wants to end his life. Prem needs someone foolish enough to embark on a suicide mission to the villains’ lair. And the film becomes an action drama the moment the requirements of these two parties reach a consensus. While the writing is unnecessarily flippant about the act of suicide, it tries to make up for lost credibility with the exploration of the mental health issue plaguing Raghu. It allows for explosive action sequences and a handful of poignant and emotionally charged scenes, too. 

But the bigger question is why Sivakarthikeyan isn’t ready to accept that he is a solid action hero? Is it him or is it people around him that keep telling him that his action avatar needs to be propped up by a crutch added into the story? Maaveeran had a voice from the clouds. Amaran had him play an army officer. And in Madharaasi, he has a mental health condition that turns his Mr Jekyll into a ferocious Hyde. But this is still a very much Sivakarthikeyan film, right? So, the reason behind this transformation is rooted in a trauma that is cemented on the concept of family. However, this gets sidelined in Murugadoss’ decision to give more weightage to the action in this action drama. 

Cars go up in the air and in flames, stunt sequences defy physics, one voice calling out for help at the right time brings back the battered hero to life… Basically, we are back to the times when action films were gratuitous spectacles. Sudeep Elamon's visuals are a treat to watch, and we are at the right distance from the violence to enjoy it without being affected by the same. Madharaasi gives us a lot of violent sequences, but we aren’t really affected by the bloodshed, and neither is the ticking time bomb of gun violence raising any stakes. So, we are left with good-old hand-to-hand combat, and that brings out the best in Vidyut, who steals the show. Of course, Sivakarthikeyan shows his evolution as an action hero, but Vidyut steals the show, and is allowed to do it, with both Sivakarthikeyan and Murugadoss taking a step back till the narrative needs the hero to come up trumps. The presence of Shabeer Kallarakkal, who plays the other antagonist Chirag, is menacing, but is a rather one-note character.

Leaving aside the overdose of action, Madharaasi’s romance and sentiment portions actually worked because they had a strong core. Even their meet-cute has a lot of action to boot, but what follows, backed by Anirudh’s score, is a nice montage that establishes how the romance develops between Malathi and Raghu. This is important because we need to believe that Malathi’s presence makes Raghu a grounded person. And when he goes ballistic in her absence, we understand. While Murugadoss might have spent one scene too many with this refreshing couple, they tend to make it work because their relationship has a reason to exist in Madharaasi. There are other moments of flourishes in the film, especially the unfolding of scenes involving the spies in both the police and the gangsters' camps. They get memorable moments of heroism that lend their characters a lot of respect.

That's why it is disappointing when the film takes a few liberties too many and doesn’t properly use a few interesting plot devices. A hero seeing his family in every life he fights for is a fantastic layer of reality to a trope that has always been seen in our masala films. But it isn’t explored well enough because Murugadoss focuses on wringing out an extra action sequence at the expense of drama. Similarly, the theme of gun violence, which does ring alarm bells, isn’t explored enough, and the solution to it all is so ordinary and uninspiring. 

In many ways, Madharaasi is a solid comeback for Murugadoss, who was facing an extended slump in his career. It acts as a showreel for the action avatar of Sivakarthikeyan. It allows Rukmini to make a solid mark in a role that isn’t relegated to being a damsel in distress, and is, in fact, the reason why the wheels of the film are set in motion. And more importantly, Murugadoss gives us a film that nudges at the importance of standing up for what’s right. Through the ‘abnormal’ Raghu, it tells us that ‘normal’ doesn’t always have to be right, and a nobody can become a hero, a warrior, and an immortal if they decide to stand up against the wrong and unfair, even if they are standing alone, and they are just another... Madharaasi.