Nedumaaran Rajangam, who is played by Surya, is an ambitious young man, who doesn’t stop himself until he reaches his dream. A dream to soar high, not just for him but also for the people like Maaran, who are always put in a position to choose between things whichever important or essential to them. In other words, they are denied the privilege to access a comfort, a feature, a lifestyle which are widely resorted only to the privilege. He strives hard to close this gap in the way he knows. Being remote from sophistication means being remote from growth which is what Maaran believes. Sundari, played by Aparna Balamurali, carries a dream of her own to establish bakeries from the remote place she is from. A palatable dynamic between Maaran and Sundari works out pleasantly very well.
Nedumaaran’s father, an honest teacher, always goes by the rules. He writes petitions to the government while Maaran chooses the other lane, a fierce one where there is no stopping the blood from flowing the ground. His father says he would keep fighting for the essential of his village until he’s got the strength to grip his pen. The rift between Maaran and his father works for an emotional depth that the story necessarily needs. Like a father rejoices his son’s victory and journey from afar. Urvasi, as Maaran’s mother, is marvelous with her moving performances at various moments.
Quoting Fredrik Backman, from Anxious People, “The most expensive thing you can buy in the most densely populated places on the planet is distance!”. That’s the core on which a privileged system is built on that Maaran wants to break into pieces. He wants a system where dreaming doesn’t just for the privileged but for everyone who’s got the idea and passion for it. And the end of the film while credits are rolling, we glimpse at the exchange of conversation between two people who disembark from an airplane. One is a barber and another owns a chain of textile shops. It was positively fulfilling to see that. Could that happen in reality if the system favours only the rich and not equally everyone by breaking the barrier?
But at many moments, I felt that the story is tailor-made for the make-believe, saint-alike “Hero” (in contrast to NGK) and not for a man who is struggling to break big with his inhibitions, vulnerabilities, desire to make some profit (if there is some, it would be only to do good for others) and insecurities. The light seems to have shed strategically less on those part to keep the high moments intact for the sake of the drama. When Maaran loses his father, the heartbreak lingers on to seep us too into his turmoil and self-blame along with him. With a phenomenal actor like Urvasi on the same screen, Surya gives an exceptionally well performance in that scene.
Aparna is amazing and inspiring as Sundari without any inhibitions. She is indeed a refreshing find. GV Prakash’s electrifying music that doesn’t miss its spot to stir. ‘Uriyadi’ Vijayakumar writes sucker-punch dialogues to shed the light on the caste barrier inside capitalism. He calls out the excruciatingly visible height and the dire need to close this gap between humans under one Sun through Maaran. His voice is loud enough to rob the rich of their sleep. He climbs back up every time when his willpower is tested.
Paresh Rawal plays the obstacle in Maaran’s journey. He does his duty of declawing the hero’s fangs and let him suffer until he finds his courage to fight back. Paresh plays a neat, convincing villain and sends the chill when he utters “Despite their bodies are not aerodynamically design, Bees fly because they don’t know yet that they can’t.” When Karunas says, “If we keep listening to this guy just for a little while, even we would begin to believe all his bullshits”. This surely induce a bunch of laughs and if it had been a theatrical release, the compounded chuckles would have a created a nice ambience. But in this pandemic situation, we deal the cards we are dealt with. So does Maaran. Like the crowdfunding scenes in the film, there are many moments seemed curated for high, overwhelming moments instead of convincing us to buy into them. Between Maaran and Sundari, there is an appealing bond that should never go unnoticed. It’s not often the existence of vulnerability of men is captured well and we see the them in our movies. Sudha has created such a fine balance between the vulnerability and courage between her mand and the woman in the matrimony.
Soorarai Pottru makes a strong case to embrace equality in society we live in where the rich denies the rest of their privilege just because they can. There is no to say that it would have been a visual treat a theatrical experience.
