Movie Name: 'Master'
Actors: Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das, Shantanu, Gouri Kishan and others.
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Cinematography: Sathyan Sooryan
Dialogues: Rajesh Murthy
Producer: Xavier Britto
Story-Screenplay-Direction: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Tamil
star hero Vijay is slowly but steadily establishing himself as a
minimum-guarantee hero in Telugu market. To strengthen his market
further, he is coming along with talented hero Vijay Sethupathi this
time. They both play the hero and villain in the most-anticipated film
'Master' which is hitting the screens today. Young sensation Anirudh
Ravichander composed the music while Lokesh Kanagaraj directed this mass
entertainer. Let us see how the film turned out.
Story
JD
(Vijay) is a psychology professor who is liked by the students but
hated by the professors. He forces the college administration into
conducting the student body elections and the principal agrees to it on
one condition. He asks JD to walk out of the college if any fights
happen. Though everything goes smoothly, a huge brawl happens after the
elections which makes JD to leave college.
He joins a juvenile
observation home as a teacher and soon finds out that a criminal named
Bhavani (Vijay Sethupathi) is using the juveniles in his own crime
business. JD has to keep the juveniles in order and get rid of Bhavani
who is the cause of all the problems. How he does it forms the rest of
the story.
Analysis
There is
always an advantage in working with mass heroes. There is no need to
work too hard on a story and try for something new. If you give his fans
something interesting with good emotions, mass moments and good songs
along with entertainment, you end up getting a big hit. If presented
properly, you finding yourself with a blockbuster in your hands. If
looked from this perspective, 'Master' is likely to impress the Tamil
audience as Vijay is a superstar there with a humongous fan following.
There are ample moments in this film for his fans to cherish and whistle
heartfully when they watch it on the big screen.
But Vijay is
not a star hero here which makes us search for an engaging script and
this is where the problem arises. All the above-mentioned commercial
elements doesn't workout here as you are not that emotionally connected
to the star Vijay. This turns out to be the major problem in 'Master'.
Young director Lokesh Kanagaraj who impressed everyone with his
arresting narration in 'Khaidi' has changed his route completely and
made a film that caters to Vijay's fans. He made a complete commercial
film and got stuck in the image of Vijay. His mark is only seen in the
characterisation and presentation of villain's role but the rest of the
film feels a bit routine.
Despite going in a routine format, the
first half entertains the audience but the latter part decreased the
impact. The film starts off on an interesting note with the introduction
of villain. The evolution of Vijay Sethupathi's character since
childhood is presented brilliantly but the film falls into the routine
trap once hero comes into the picture. After some partly entertaining
college scenes, the film takes a serious turn after the hero enters the
juvenile facility. The interval scene is surely one the major highlights
of this film and sets the stage perfectly for the second half.
But
the second half offers nothing new and runs on a predictable note. All
the things hero does to challenge the villain doesn't engage the
audience, The hero and villain does confront each other till the climax
which is a huge gamble taken by the makers. Though their final scene
impresses the masses, the normal audience who lost interest by then
doesn't feel the same way.
'Master' is the perfect example of
what happens when a talented young director falls into the trap of a
star hero's image and stardom.
Performances
Vijay
looks quite energetic on-screen and pleases his fanbase with his
typical style and mannerisms. He looks quite stylish in the film and
does what is expected from him. It is to be seen how far the Telugu
audience connect to him in 'Master'. Malavika Mohanan is beautiful and
plays her part. She doesn't have too much to do in this commercial film.
Arjun Das who acted as a prisoner in juvenile home impresses with his
acting but it is Vijay Sethupathi who steals the show completely. He
dominates everyone with his screen presence. He shows cruelty despite
being subtle and simple. His character is also designed well.
Technicians
Young
sensation Anirudh once again proves that he perfectly knows how to
satisfy the fans with his background scores. Though it may be loud at
times, he elevated a lot of regular scenes and impresses the masses. He
even gave some chartbuster tunes like 'Vaathi Coming' and 'Kutti Story'.
Sathyan Sooryan's cinematography is terrific. He usage of colours his
really interesting and brings a lot of impact to this movie. The
production values are top-notch. The dialogues and dubbing voice could
have been better in a lot of portions.
Lokesh Kanagaraj who made
his mark with 'Khaidi' has faltered with 'Master'. He gave a lot of
importance to the story and narration made sure that the elevation
scenes are integrated in it but working with star hero like Vijay made
him to change his style which didn't work out. He showed his talent in
presenting the villain but falls to the commercial trap eventually.
Verdict
More of a Vijay's film than a director's movie.
Rating: 2.25/5
