Madirashi

Language : Malayalam
Banner : Kichu Films, Impresario Motion Pictures
Director : Shaji Kailas
Producer : Jagadeesh Chandran
Cinematography : Shaji
Story, Screenplay, Dialogue : Rajesh Jayaraman
Editing : Samjith Mhd
Art Direction : Boban
Lyrics : Mohan Udhinoor
Music: Sujith, Satheesh
Distribution Kichu Films Release
Release : 2012 December 07
Starring : Jayaram, Meghana Raj, Meera Nandan, Kalabhavan Mani, Tiny Tom, Kailash, Janardhanan, Kochupreman

Shaji Kailas goes back to where he started with his new action-comedy movie 'Madirasi'. No, I am not talking about him revisiting the comedy genre which worked in his favour during the early stages of his career. What I mean is he behaves like a debutant who has no clue about what works and what doesn't.

When the movie starts, we are informed that the film is not about the old Madras. It's about a small village in Coimbatore known as Madirasi. Due to some strange reason, this turns out to be the place where the main characters in the movie go to buy sports cycle for their kids.

Chandran Pillai (Jayaram) is a landlord, farmer, and philanthropist. He's a widower and lives with his kid. Bhama (Meera Nandan) is blindly in love with Chandran and keeps wooing him. But Chandran doesn't want anyone else coming between him and his kid. This forms the story of Madirasi for about an hour. If you are wondering how this can be a story, for your information, I too had this doubt.

But things go for a toss when Chandran, along with his ally Jayapal (Tiny Tom), goes to Madirasi to get his son a cycle.

To start with, Maya (Meghna Raj) tricks them whenever she sees them. And once Chandran decides to help a kid he meets at Madriasi, problems become grave. Enters the dreaded villain, Devaram, played by Vijay John. And soon it becomes a duel between both. Completely idiotic ways in which Chandran tries to save himself and help the kid make the rest of the story.

Oh! It doesn't end there. He comes back to Kerala and decides to marry Bhama. Just because the hero has to marry the heroine, it seems. Otherwise, what makes him say 'yes' to Bhama after the Madirasi trip is known only to the writer Rajesh Jayaraman and the director.

Of course there are a few moments that promise laughter. A few. But after sometime you start wondering whether you are laughing at the jokes or at yourself. Some scenes end up being like a cartoon. Sometimes you think it's a joke and starts to laugh, and then you realize it was not supposed to be funny. Trying hard to be a comedy and an action movie at the same time, Madirasi fails to be either.

Jayaram, as usual, gives a decent performance. John Vijay looks promising in his second Malayalam endeavor. Most of the other characters hardly hold any potential. Maya seems to exist for no reason. Bhama is a teacher and yet acts so silly that she flirts explicitly with Chandran in front of his kid. Some characters take the screen for so long while some others don't even get the privilege of expressing their true nature and intentions.

The frames captured by Shaji are impressive. There are quite a few brilliant shots, which are typical of any Shaji Kailas flick. But they are not sufficient to save the movie.

All-in all, a sequence of illogical, stupidly funny, mind-numbing, unnecessary scenes make Madirasi a movie you can happily miss. Certainly a brutal remark. But then, the movie doesn't show you any mercy.

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