Arjun cannot be kept away from honest cop roles for long. He is back into his favourite domain through Maasi. That Arjun plays an honest cop is good enough to make you guess the nature of the movie. But, even within this highly predictable genre of police and villains, some good entertainment can be delivered; as many other Arjun starrers in the past have done.

Maasi is a very straightforward story of cop against bad guys. An honest cop (Maasilamani – that explains the title) who wants the city to be peaceful; two gangs who fight amongst each other to establish their will over the city. The cop interferes in their affairs far too much and irks them. This results in retaliation after which the cop goes on the rampage. You know the rest!

A police film can have a crime, an investigation and a larger motive than just personal revenge. But, Maasi has none of these; it has only guns, bullets and lots of people falling dead. The only real twist in the script is when the cop makes a rather unexpected move which makes you doubt his intentions and faith in the police force. But, that twist is not something we have not seen in Tamil cinema before. Another recent cop film had almost an identical twist in its script. After the initial retaliation by the villains, it looks as though they developed cold feet; they just keep falling down like a pack of cards against the gun and will of the cop. Now, that does not make for exciting viewing does it? Only one villain from the whole array is left standing at the end which gives rise to slight spike in the script through a pretty unexpected incident. But, even that fizzles out as what follows is another shoot out.

Arjun’s films are known for being good entertainment packages. The action is always good, there is always place for a good comic track and there is generally a generous dose of glamour too. In Maasi, all of them appear to be missing. Action is not of Arjun’s standards; it’s just a lot of shooting going on. Surprisingly, the trend of using a comedy track, which has made many Arjun films watchable, is skipped in Maasi. That heavily hits the film’s ability to provide some kind of respite to the audience. Yes, there is a bit of glamour, but that’s not going to help the film when everything else is weak. Same can be said about the songs as well.

Looking at Arjun in Maasi, one feels like we are seeing the first signs of ageing. Or, is it the jaded script that makes him look jaded? Pradeep Rawat lends some strength to the script through an imposing portrayal. There is no other performance of note.

Maasi is Arjun’s umpteenth role as a strict cop. We know what to expect; so there is no question of this film being bogged down by great expectations. A police story needs to be something more than just personal revenge and definitely a bit more of brains than bullets. And, if the makers are looking to entertain the masses, they must have taken care to build a script that brings in the requisite elements. Sadly, there are none of those elements in Maasi.

Verdict: Highly predictable shoot out