Whenever one travels through the desert or sails across oceans, there might not be anything particular to see or enjoy, but the very experience of traversing through them would add up to an adventurous experience. Some would relish and want to relive that and some might get bored easily! Well, Mariyaan is such an experience wherein director Bharat Bala has keenly parked his faith on great visuals rather than a gripping narrative!
‘Mariyaan’ narrates a heart wrenching love story between Mariyaan (Dhanush), a fisherman and Panimalar (Parvathi Menon) in a south Tamil Nadu fishing hamlet. Circumstances force the lovers to get separated, wherein Mariyaan lands up at Sudaan to take up a labourer’s job. When he is about to return home, he is faced with a new challenge that can tear him apart! Will the love birds unite solely with their faith in love? This was the cliched question that the director tries to answer for the entire second half.
The movie in general had no story at all as it dealt purely with love and separation. The director has solely put the onus on Marc Konicx’s cinematography and ARR’s soul stirring music which has lifted the film to a level that can be called as a decent attempt.
The lead cast of Dhanush and Parvathy were brilliant in their own way. Their on-screen chemistry was crackling and made the emotions between them intense. Dhanush reinvents himself time and again and here too he does the same with a deluge of expressions and brought out the right emotions. Parvathy continued from where she left in ‘Poo’ a few years back. Such a brilliant and sensible actress who understood the nuances of the role and enlivened it.
The supporting cast of Appukutty, Salimkumar, Uma Riyaz, Imman Annachi and Vinayakan were all naturals but there were nothing special or dazzling from any of them. That was a disappointment!
ARR’s songs and BGM was one of the cornerstones of the movie and ‘Naetru Aval’ was the pick of the lot, with ‘Sonapareeya’ giving a much needed jolt to the sagging screenplay initially. Both these songs were penned by late lyricist Vaali - he might have passed away due to his age, but he died young at heart! We will miss you and your lyrics sir!!
Marc Konicx’s cinematography gives soul for the movie. In one of the interviews, he mentioned that 90% of the movie was shot with handheld camera. That helped to capture the emotions much more naturally. The landscapes and the sea were captured with equal poise and the underwater scenes were amazing as well!
Editing by Vivel Harshan was not bad. The length of the movie could have been trimmed a bit as the screenplay had very little to offer.
On the whole, director Bharat Bala has succeeded in narrating a tale with stunning visuals, but has badly failed due to a weak screenplay that drags from the start till the end with unwanted surreal tones which makes a common viewer yawn.
Verdict: Worth a watch for its visuals and songs!
Rating: 2.5/5
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