MAYA MOVIE REVIEW

*** No Spoilers in this Maya Movie Review ***

Debutant Ashwin Saravanan offers a multi-layered ghostly tale with style and clarity. When a group of passionate technicians come together to make a film, the soaring passion of theirs is evident. In case of Maya, cinematographer Sathyan Sooriyan wins the race though the other technicians are just a nanometer away.

Maya takes a special spot in the victory stand for having employed Digital Interface (DI) for the core purpose of storytelling. In the course of deep thinking, mere techniques can become the narrator too! Maya stands as a substantial example for the same.

The director has indeed taken advantage of the potential that Nayanthara has as a performer. There is not one frame in which we see her stepping out of her character. Dialogue heavy or light, this character mouths it in a consistent manner. Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli shines even when her character as Nayanthara’s friend holds a subtle impact.

Aari, Mime Gopi and Amzath Khan reassure the audience of their capability as actors. Robo Shankar’s character is the only character that loses clarity. The director decides to give few seamless hints to the audience and if one manages to spot them, they are sure to like the film more.

Ashwin’s approach as a narrator gives satisfaction to the viewer as he has respected the intelligence quotient that his audience holds. He refrains from spoon feeding and bombarding them with recollection shots. He smartly lays down the information and lets the viewer comprehend and join the dots, turning audience into an active participator in the course of the movie watching experience.  Perhaps he could have cut short the movie by few minutes, specifically the forest sequence just before the climax.  

Ron Ethan Yohan understands his role well as the music director and plays the key role in giving a fulfilling experience. Good production and sound design along with cuts handled well by TS Suresh, make Maya stands as a gutsy watch. Beware of few extremely high points that might give a sudden pump of blood to your brain. Afterall, that's why a horror film is made!