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When an egoistic writer creates tragic stories that are borderline sadistic, the characters begin to haunt him and demand he do right by them.
In Maayakoothu, a writer’s fictional characters revolt against his cynical narratives, sparking a gripping drama on hope, storytelling, and morality.
MaayakoothuU/A
4/5
Starring: Nagarajan Kannan, Mu Ramaswamy, Sai Dheena, Delhi Ganesan, SK Gayathri, Aishwarya RaghupathiDirector: AR RaghavendraMusic: Anjana Rajagopalan
Vasan (Nagarajan Kannan), an egotistical writer with a god complex, makes a living by writing stories for a small magazine. He avoids mainstream magazines, citing the lack of freedom. Even his magazine’s editor (Delhi Ganesan) calls magazine stories a dying art. But Vasan is adamant and relentless. His resolve is also seen in his writing and his choice of creating tragic stories where the oppressed and people on the fringes of society get tortured. Parallel to Vasan’s narrative, we get three other narratives, and it takes a while to understand that the three stories are by Vasan. One is about a gangster, Dhanapal (Sai Dheena), on the precipice of finishing his 50th murder assignment. The second one has Selvi (Aishwarya Raghupathi), a domestic worker struggling to make money for her son’s school fees, and the third is another tragic tale of an aspiring doctor, the daughter of a poor farmer, who doesn’t have the means to attempt the NEET exam. All three stories teem with archetypal tropes of poverty and oppression that cater to a particular gaze of society. Vasan has an air of superiority while weaving their stories of torture, but his characters start tormenting him, demanding he write more responsibly. He claims his characters are after his life, and thus begins a maze of a story where the lines of reality blur.
AR Ragavendra does a splendid job in the way he unravels the different arcs, and he is effective in making you root for his characters instantly. Within minutes, we see ourselves wanting Selvi out of her fix. There is a sustained anxiety watching these painful stories unfold, which, in turn, makes us detest Vasan. However, beyond his ego, Vasan also justifies his stories of cynicism, where the poor and oppressed have no hope of recovery. “Only one in a million succeed, and we create an illusion of hope based on that,” he argues to his mentor. Yet, as the story unravels and reaches its crescendo, it reveals the need for relentless optimism in the face of hopelessness. A particular scene involving an auto driver is an example of the brilliant depth of Maayakoothu. The driver, another creation of Vasan, puts forth an incredible point about how the common narrative of society can be changed by individuals. The film argues for a fair representation of people, even if it is absent in reality. While Vasan wants to reflect the painful reality in his stories, AR Ragavendra and the film’s writer, M. Srinivasan, argue for conscious creators and creations that would inspire hope.
It is rather a radical perspective, and it is up to the viewers to agree or protest against its message. However, Maayakoothu succeeds in how it makes its argument. The film is a largely entertaining drama with suspense that is maintained till the end. The elements of fantasy—of characters coming to life—are handled with mature dexterity. It could all be happening in Vasan’s head, or they could be real. Either way, the film makes for an engrossing watch. Added to its merit are the performances of almost all the actors. Nagarajan Kannan is infuriating as Vasan, and that’s a major win. Most often, it is a risk to have a hateable protagonist, but the constant self-aware humour relieves such tension, and you begin to see Vasan as a tortured soul rather than a sadistic writer. Maayakoothu is another example of how indie filmmakers and small-budget films reach greater heights of storytelling and immense depth in philosophical thought than our mainstream cinema.
Maayakoothu releases in theatres on July 11.
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