Maamannan
- -An MLA and his son, who are from oppressed community, are forced to stand up against the privileged, arrogant scion of a late politician, who is determined to make them bow down to him.
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A passable drama with no social impact
EXAMINE SCREENPLAY
Maamannan by Mari Selvaraj opens with shots cutting between two violent incidents. One of these features Rathnavelu (Fahadh Faasil), a politician from a dominant caste who passed away, as the scion, putting down his beloved dog after it lost a race. The son of MLA Maamannan (Vadivelu), a member of the oppressed caste, Adiveeran (Udhayanidhi Stalin), a martial arts instructor, starts a fight between two of his students. Along with these, The filmmaker demonstrates the distinction between using violence against the weak and using violence against tyranny. The latter practically reiterates the point made by the filmmaker in his earlier picture, Karnan: there are instances when the only way to fight oppression is via agitation.
However, Maamannan actually pays homage to the optimism of the director’s first feature, Pariyerum Perumal. The goal of the movie is to demonstrate to us that by believing in our democratic system, change is achievable.
Similar to Karnan, the fight starts off tiny when Sunil Reddy, Rathnavelu’s money-minded brother who is in charge of several educational establishments, targets Leela (Keerthy Suresh) and her college pals who are running a coaching session. Their friend from college, Adiveeran, owns a martial arts school, and he has allowed them to use his facilities. Adiveeran retaliates after the institute is ransacked, which involves Rathnavelu and Maamannan and escalates into a bigger struggle for dominance, status, and power.
Everything we have come to expect from a Mari Selvaraj film is present in the first half of Maamannan: intense scenes of oppression in the form of violence against defenseless men and animals, lingering guilt, a sweet romantic track, inhuman villainy, and heroic defiance that inspires cheers and whistles. We are not let down by the director’s skillful portrayal of them. The actors are also excellent. Vadivelu feels so real and never once comes across as the comic we have watched for all these years.
The dramatic effect of the movie is lessened when he expands the story’s scope to a bigger framework. The oppressor, who wants to maintain the status quo, and the oppressed, who think a democratic victory will solve their issues and their brethren’s, engage in a political power struggle in the second part. However, these sections lack impact and even start to veer into social fantasy territory. From being a terrifying figure,Rathnavelu becomes as uncertain about himself as the two guys he is pursuing. Adiveeran’s acts start to resemble those of a normal commercial cinema hero, while Maamannan’s pacifism starts to look like political naiveté. And with his third picture, Mari Selvaraj becomes another filmmaker whose dreams overcame them.
PLOT
Maamannan, a member of the Dalit group, became an MLA after advancing through the ranks of the Samathuva Samooganeedhi Makkal Kazhagam (SSMK) in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district. Athiveeran, also known as “Veera,” is the son of Maamannan and an Adimurai practitioner. He stopped communicating with his father because he was physically and emotionally abused as a child by members of the dominant community in the area, which was motivated by caste. 40-year-old Rathnavelu, the younger son of the late former minister Sundaram, serves as the SSMK district secretary for Salem.from a prevailing group. Rathnavelu had not held public office, but he had pushed hard following his father’s death, utilizing all available methods to get to the position of district secretary. Rathnavelu and Maamannan frequently become at odds because of his brazen, confrontational behavior.
Three months prior to the elections, Veera’s buddies and his romantic partner Leela run a free tutoring center that Rathnavelu’s men damage because it interferes with the operations of a private teaching center owned by Rathnavelu’s elder brother under his father’s name. In revenge, Veera and his cronies demolish Rathnavelu’s coaching center. Realizing that the problem could harm him both within and beyond the party, Rathnavelu calls Maamannan and Veera to resolve it amicably. Veera observes that Rathnavelu and Maamannan are seated in seats during the meeting, whereas Maamannan is standing. Rathnavelu says that Maamannan has never sat down in his home and that it has been his habit for eternity when Veera urges his father to take a seat. Rathnavelu becomes upset and slaps Veera and pushes Maamannan for intervening when his son is hit, in response to Veera’s constant pleas that he sit down. Rathnavelu is kicked down by an irate Veera as payback.
In order to stop more mayhem, Rathnavelu orders his men to beat up Maamannan and Veera as he rushes to get his gun. However, his wife Jyothi locks him inside the room. The guys that attack Veera and his father are defeated by him, and they flee. Rathnavelu is instructed to keep put by Chief Minister Ka. Sindhanai Rajan, despite his preparations to counterattack and kill Maamannan and Veeran. Rathnavelu, unable to assault Maamannan and Veeran, lets his hounds run wild and murders the pet pigs that Veera had bred. This harsh emblem causes much pain to Veera and Maamannan, as well as to their friends and relatives. Rathnavelu and Manamannan are told to meet Sindhanai Rajan at the Party headquarters in Chennai. He demands that Rathnavel either give up his party membership or apologize to Maamannan. Along with a few of his supporters, Rathnavel leaves the party and joins the biggest opposition group, MSSMK (Marumalarchi Samathuva Samooganeedhi Makkal Kazhagam). The political scene is rocked by the dismissal of a district secretary for the ruling party. Maamannan is running for a third term as an MLA, thus Rathnavel selects a rival of his choosing to face him. To fully focus his energies on defeating Maamannan, he even runs his wife Jyothi in his place for a different constituency.
Rathnavel confronts Maamannan, saying that without his backing, Maamannan will undoubtedly lose the next elections. Rathnavel fights hard during the election campaign to unite the caste system’s powerful castes against Maamannan. Rathnavel even murders the chairman of a caste association in an attempt to stoke support for his candidate. To some extent, all of his schemes are successful, but the young people in the constituency rebel against Rathnavel’s dictates about who each street should vote for. In the subsequent elections, Maamannan triumphs by a significant margin, leaving Rathnavel humiliated and defeated. Following the SSMK’s reelection, Maamannan is appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Veera and Leela are still involved in their community-based social welfare work.
