Maareesan: A Rat and Snake's Road Thriller with Heart

A very cleverly written film, that's backed by amazing performances from both Vadivelu and Fahad Fassil. The first scene of the film is a snake in a dark, messy room, which is followed by a police officer carrying a rat trap with a rat in it. He then puts in a bucket of water, but the rat escapes. This explains the whole film and its characters. A robber who is just out of jail goes to rob another house, meets a man in it and decides to go on a road trip with him as he discovers he has a lot of money with him. As simple as it sounds, the film is an engaging thriller with organic twists.

Vadivelu as Velayutham and Fahad as Daya nail it. Great casting choice, as they build great chemistry throughout their road trip. Vivek Prasana also does a good job. Looks like the director casted Fahad after watching him in Vettaiyan. Almost felt like a spin-off character.

Though this is a thriller, the movie has some really heartwarming moments and also makes you laugh and smile in places, thanks to beautifully written dialogues.

Technically, a decent film. Good cinematography backed by a decent score from Yuvan Shankar Raja. Perhaps the film could have been more cinematic than preachy towards the end, which makes the second half feel longer. The tonal shift is handled very well and feels organic.

We have seen many films talk about sexual assault; this is one among them, too. But what I liked here was that nothing was shown to gain sympathy points, so kudos to that!

Maareesan is a neat thriller that's worth your ticket price!! Do watch it in theaters!

3.5/5