BEHINDWOODS COLUMN

While it is Mankatha for Ajith, it is definitely not Massu for Suriya but unquestionably better than Anjaan. Massu Engira Masilamani is one other Venkat Prabhu (VP) adventure with a spooky touch, and a different story angle packaged as a well-crafted commercial cinema. As much as we can speak about the positives of the film, there are a few elements that didn’t work too. VP’s all ‘boys’ movies have always worked for their unique story-telling, timely comedies, situation drifts, intriguing twists and exceptional screen presence of the characters. Masssu gave an experience of touching the high points and low points at a consistent pace. Without a doubt, this movie is definitely a must-watch but will you watch it one more time? That’s a question I can’t answer here. With a spoiler alert, I present to you some of the elements that worked and didn’t work for me. Read along..

What worked? 

Ø  Venkat Prabhu is synonymous with unfolding many relevant characters during the journey of his film. In Massu too we have Karunaas, Rajendran, Sreeman, Riyaz Khan, Samuthirakani and Radhakrishnan Parthiban to add as the supporting cast and they have done their role at par excellence.

Ø  Suriya has the power to see and interact with ghosts in the film. Just when you think what if the power vanishes, there is a similar situation. At this point, non-verbal communication takes over and the non-physical connect with the ghost army, is beautifully shown in the climax.

Ø  To bring in spoof as a part of the comedy in a VP film is known to us but who would imagine watching the characters of different movies alive in his film. Yes, bringing in Jai from Engeyum Eppodhum was a real high point for the novelty of its idea.

Ø  For all the men, you have some good stunt sequences. For the kids, Suriya has played an engaging con man. For the audience outside of India, the Sri Lankan touch given to the second Suriya would be exciting. For the women, well, watch it for Venkat Prabhu’s direction!

Ø  The thoughtful connect between the revenge story and the way each character dies in the film. There is a good reason behind the accident, fire outburst and the final beat-to-death sequence.

Ø  Knowing the story of a person’s death through a mere physical touch is Venkat Prabhu’s touch in the film.

Ø  The unpredicted twists and turns are a mandatory expectation and he fulfills that graciously in the film. I did not imagine Premgi to be a ghost or the film to be a revenge saga. Well done there!

Ø  I went for the movie with my cousins and after the movie I couldn’t see them as normal human beings as I kept wondering if they were ghosts. With so much spoken about phantoms and supernatural elements in the film, the impact was tremendous.

Ø  Massu stands as an example for a good commercial mainstream film with an interesting story value. What they set out to create was achieved.

Ø  Suriya’s screen presence is unmatchable as he has regained the lost momentum from Anjaan.

Ø  CG work went hand in hand with the camera work. It has blended well in par with the film. Not once did the ghost-like scenes look ghastly. Kudos to R D Rajasekhar and the CG team.

Ø  In a VP film the key characters are the justified baddies. That is maintained here till the last scene.

Ø  Some songs like Piravi touched the emotional side of people and reached an all time high point.

What didn’t work? 

Ø  One known truth about Suriya is that he is an amazing actor more than a hero. Except, he was used as a hero material here, more than exploring his acting side.  The first half of the film had too much of Suriya’s indulgence.

Ø  Too many references from Mankatha, hence it makes the characters very predictable while showcasing some important twists like Parthiban taking Suriya’s side in the end (like Arjun does for Ajith in Mankatha).

Ø  Suriya’s ‘daddy’ dialogues from Vaaranam Aayiram have become so popular and resounding that, just when we see a flash of the second Suriya on-screen, we connect to it and expect him to be Massu’s father.

Ø  Too many logical lags. For instance, while the whole film is about ghosts, why didn’t the ghost take the shape of a human and fulfill its wishes? Why would everybody succumb to the hero? So on and so forth…

Ø  As usual, ‘boys did have all the fun’. I am not against it at all but why have a heroine for the sake of filling the void of a female character on the frame? The film would have still made a good standalone flick!

Ø  As a youngster, I expected multiple adult comedies in the film. Since, VP has made the film for kids too; we don’t get to see that side.

Ø  The BGM of Mankatha is still ringing in our heads but will it be the same for Massu? Well, not so much.

Ø  The usual clichés like showing rupee notes, hero going behind money, vibrant and unimaginable costumes only for the heroine who plays a nurse, Premgi’s comedies etc are a few low points.

Overall the film was a beautiful journey with a dull first half and a captivating latter half. The VP way of story-telling is brilliant and the consistency of showing the ghost troop is astounding. The spirits are all over the film, giving our spirits an all time high!

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