Karthick Naren-Arun Vijay's Mafia Teaser Breakdown: When the lion meets the fox

Looks like Karthick Naren  films and cop characters go hand in hand. His debut, Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru, had Rahman playing a senior cop, while his yet-to-be-released Naragasooran too features Indrajith as one. And now, it's Arun Vijay turn to once again play a policeman (after 2017's Kuttram 23) in the director's upcoming film Mafia, whose teaser was released earlier today. 

Though we don't actually see him donning the khaki, we have ample proof from the teaser that the actor is playing a cop. Similar to teasers/trailers of Karthick's previous films, Mafia too features a first-person narrative of its pivotal characters looking straight into the camera and talking about what they are up to.

But unlike his previous films, which predominantly featured blue-toned visuals, Mafia's one-and-a-half minute teaser screams red. It starts with our protagonist, played by Arun Vijay, sitting stylishly on a couch in front of a wall that bears the map of Tamil Nadu and the state's police force logo. Near him is a side table with a wooden Ashoka pillar and our National flag. The actor, carrying a gun, tells us the tale of a lion who happens to be the king of the forest. A slide, calling him 'The Hunter' takes over the screen next implying that he's the lion in this story as we see him putting that gun to use in a series of shots. 

Next, we are introduced to Prasanna's character, who seems to be the antagonist. Smoking a cigar, the actor is seen sporting a salt-and-pepper hairdo, and wearing a black suit and a chain carrying a ring in it. At the place where the map was in Arun Vijay's frame, we now get a contemporary art piece. There's a table here too, but in this case, it is occupied by a wine bottle and a king chess piece. Prasanna's character continues the story Arun Vijay's character started and says that the same forest also has fox whose actions are seldom understood by others. We then get a slide calling him 'The Beast'. The following shots show how him as a suave and stylish don whose 'business' spans several nations — thanks to shots of a chartered flight, harbour, and a yacht. 

The rest of the teaser has the two characters going about what a cop and a gangster would do. It ends with the question of what would happen when the two animals come face to face — will the lion's brute strength strike the final blow or will the wily fox have a trick up its sleeve. As we had previously deciphered from the first look poster, Mafia is expected to be about drug trafficking. Prasanna's character is speculated to play the rich gangster, who uses his experience and evil-yet-brilliant mind to stay on top, while Arun Vijay's character is the cop who puts his brawn to use in order to bring the wrong-doers to justice.  

Also starring Priya Bhavani Shankar, Mafia is expected to hit the screens soon.