What Is the Story About?
Gandhi Mahaan (Vikram) hails from a freedom fighters’ family and suffers to live up to their expectations of a Gandhian follower. He decides to freak out for a day on his 40th Birthday which brings dramatic changes in his life making him a mafia leader. Several years later, his son comes back but in a very unexpected manner. The rest is all about the face-off of the father and son.
Performances?
Vikram is terrific as usual. There are three shades in his character – a frustrated middle-class teacher, a don, and an affectionate father. He sleepwalks through all the roles effortlessly. As a don, his swag and style are also explored. Fans will easily admit that this is the best of Vikram in a long time.
It is a treat for fans to see Vikram and Dhruv together but the young man has a long way to match the screen presence of his father. The role needs him to stand parallel to his father. But then, it is too early to attempt something of such sort. Performance-wise, he is decent at times but also struggled with expressions at places.
Bobby Simha gets a decent act together in a character that does not need him to try anything different. Then, we have Simran being overdramatic in the first half but nothing to blame her that is what the director wants from the character. Sanath as Raki is decent while Vettai Muthukumar is alright in a character of a villain with a comic touch. There are not many other characters that deserve a mention.
Analysis
Mahaan reminds us of many films down the South in the 1980s. A son taking exactly the opposite path of what his father wants him to do. The misled son becomes a mafia don and is only to be controlled by his police son. We have seen numerous stories on similar lines. Mahaan takes the same story. That could have been excused if the treatment is good. But then, lazy writing combined with painfully long proceedings tests the patience of the audience at every stretch.
The initial portion of Gandhi Mahaan chilling out on his 40th Birthday and the melodrama that follows is the crux of the story. It should be a hook of the entire story but director Karthik Subbaraj fails right away. We then, see Gandhi Mahaan getting into the liquor business so easily. The motive here and his growth in the business are not established well. The audience does not feel the ‘kick’ about the rise of Mahaan. Everything happens so quickly and without making an impact.
The entry of Dada happens with an interesting sequence. The upcoming face-off of the father and son should have elevated the proceedings. But the director thinks otherwise. In the name of sentiment, the character arc of Vikram falls drastically. He is the salable material of Mahaan but is completely left untouched for a major portion of the second half. To balance it out, the director needs to elevate the other character of Dada but Dhruv, as said earlier, could not match the frame of Vikram. Even the characterization is not as such.
Towards the end of the film, the director tried to elevate Mahaan’s character once again but it is already too late and the attempt is also too meek. That’s not the only complaint. The movie is painfully slow. The boring sequences were stretched beyond what is necessary for no reason testing the patience of the audience. Close to three hours, the film serves no purpose.
Finally, Mahaan is a very boring watch even in the comfort of your home. Vikram’s performance and some very small moments should be the only reason to try it.
Music and Other Departments?
We see very few glimpses of Karthik Subbaraj in the writing and direction department. That’s the major complaint about Mahaan. Santosh Narayan’s music barely works but the background score works as always. The cinematography has a distinct color palette used and is okay. The editing is a huge miss with runtime being the major complaint.
Highlights?
Vikram’s Performance
Santosh Narayan’s BGM
Some moments
Drawbacks?
Excruciatingly long runtime
Melodrama
Lack of Proper emotional connect
Boring scenes in the first half
Did I Enjoy It?
In very few portions.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes but don’t say we did not warn you before.
Mahaan Movie Review by Binged Bureau