Mersal - A modern day Apoorva Sagodharargal

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Vijay's Mersal hit the theaters last week and I had the opportunity to catch a show at the local theater on this weekend.  I must say I have mixed feelings about this movie. Now I know this is not what my Tamil friends would like to hear about their superstar but in my honest opinion Vijay can do a lot better than the movies he's been doing recently.

Vijay has the caliber and capacity to carry a movie on his shoulders by the sheer intensity of his performance, but unfortunately his selection of movies has been letting him down these past few years. For the life of me I cannot explain his choices in Bairavaa, Theri and the less said about Puli the better. Gimme the Vijay from Thuppakki or Kaththi

Atlee has a penchant for remaking old movies in newer bottling. All his previous movies have been heavily inspired by older classics and Mersal is not much different. It borrows heavily from Apoorva Sagodharargal.  Vijay plays a triple role similar to Kamal Hassan in the original. What differs in this movie is that the role of the father character - Thalapathy has been expounded and given a lot more relevance with a bulk of the 2nd half dedicated to the flashback in comparison with Apoorva Sagodharargal where the flashback was narrated in the opening half within 10-15 minutes of the movie opening.

While Apoorva Sagodharargal had a tighter plot and the different threads in the story came together at the end, in Mersal the plot has a lot of holes. There are too many things left unsaid and I as a viewer was left wondering how the story progressed from point A to point B. Also some of the plot points were a bit hard for me to digest.

If you are a Vijay fan or planning to watch Mersal over the weekend I would implore you to not click on the spoilers button below.



Now that I have got that out of the way, lets look at the good and the bad in the movie.

Good:

  1. Vijay - of course Vijay is the whole and soul of this movie. While the double role needed refinement, Vijay is at his stylish best dancing, fighting and emoting with elan. He's firing on all cylinders and he nails his best performance as Thalapathy. It has been long rumoured that Vijay has political ambitions and in this movie he uses every frame and moment to set the course if he is so inclined. The comparison with MGR is particularly on the nose. 😀
  2. Vadivelu - The comedian has been missing from the silver screen for some time now and he makes his return with aplomb. The actor pulls no punches taking the mickey out of digital India and it is one of the best scenes in the movie. I guarantee you a laugh.
  3. Social Issue - The movie sheds a light on how medicine is considered a business in India.Sadly it is a truth. Doctors are inconsiderate, government medical systems are archaic and private hospitals are fiefdoms run to make money every which way they can. Where is the nobility in the profession?

Bad:

  1. Screenplay - this is my pet peeve with almost all movies made in India. The screenplay/story has almost no sense of tangibility. Time spent on improving the story is spent almost frivolously on inane stuff, romance and songs. A tighter flashback and some trimming of the romantic characters would have allowed for a greater depth in the story elevating the movie
  2. Music - What the hell is wrong with ARR? He seems like a shadow of his past. In the recent years the music from ARR seems almost heart breakingly pedestrian. It is hard to reconcile the current ARR with the maestro who gave foot tapping numbers with such diligent frequency. Damn even his Airtel jingle was memorable and foot tapping compared to the recent songs. I cannot even remember how the music was in the movie, even the hyped Aalaporaan Thamizhan did not stay with me. ☹️
  3. Direction - Atlee has delivered a hit with this movie, but IMO the original Apoorva Sagodharargal was a much better movie compared to this one.
  4. U/A rating - The movie was deemed U/A by the censor board, I very humbly choose to disagree, the movie shows people being killed, gored and accidents in hyper slow motion with blood flowing liberally. To top it off we also have a C section shown in full glory with a decapitation. There is too much of bloodfest in the movie for it to be seen by kids especially those younger than 15 years. I felt uncomfortably like I was somehow transported to a SAW movie. It should have been rated 17 and above. We need more categories in our censor certification.

Vijay & Vadivelu are the only saving grace in an otherwise forgettable outing. If you get a itching to watch Mersal do one better and watch Apoorva Sagodharargal

Comments

  1. Now that's one of the very balanced and detailed review read about the movie. The review gives an idea of what to expect from the movie. Way to go bro.

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    1. Thank You! I would suggest that you wait for this come on TV rather than spending big bucks in theaters.

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  2. Yeah..Totally disagree with whatever written in bad ..People are liking it over here.. I would say biggest plus is AR Rahman.. songs were super hit.. especially aalaporaan thamizhan song was a mega hit here.. and screenplay was a bit dragging in second half. but i don't feel it's bad.. moreover when it comes to commercial movie, you need to look as an entertainer.. moreover Mersal had good content .. not as Vijay fan I'm saying.. to be honest ..mersal is pretty good watch.

    The movie has U/A certification. Not U Certification FYI!!

    When you say commercial.it is like aviyal ..all mixed ones!! Watch it as entertainer. not with comparison!!
    but this recipe is tasty.

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    1. I stand corrected about the Censor certificate. But the point remains, you cannot make young kids watch such gore.

      ARR has composed some great songs, but the tracks from the movie do not stay with you. Alaporaan thamizhan is a good song but it is not ARR's best work.

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  3. And comparing this with Kamal's AB . yes. it is similar revenge plot.if you see in that way, you cannot watch director Shankar's movie as every movie deals with same social concept. AB's plot is only revenge. Mersal plot is not only revenge also have a medical area stuff!! Comparing is very easy. but making it hit by comparing is tough. I would say this is where Atlee Shined well.

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    1. You cannot have it both ways. If social concept is the motto then the medical scam is shown better in Ramanaa. I am not comparing Shankar with Atlee. But Atlee has chosen to remake Apoorva Sagodharargal consciously and comparisons are then inevitable. If you take out the revenge portion of the movie then there is nothing left to showcase what people have not already seen.

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