nadineazalea

I wanted to like this movie. I watched it on account of glowing reviews that gave special mention to the actors' performances. That aspect, that of the leads at least, without doubt deserves praise - they acted brilliantly, and as a new-comer to Dhanush's films I too see clearly how talented of an actor he is.

Which makes it more of a pity that the movie overall failed to connect. It impressed alright, but movies with cliché plots and lower production value have left me feeling more than I did at the end of Maryan. I quote an older review, from the Times of India, "for a man who gives logical replies to his friends about why he does not want to fall in love, Maryan's change of heart is a bit too quick and unconvincing." Exactly. Pani's love keeps Maryan alive, but to me at least, the development of that powerful relationship didn't come through nearly enough! How come he started loving her all of a sudden? Was it triggered by simple guilt? Had he been suppressing his love all this time? If so, how are we to know? The story ultimately fails in that it is a story of a powerful love, but doesn't take enough time to let the audience understand why said love is so intensely felt. A character said in the movie that Pani had for a long time been "obsessed" with Maryan, and indeed she seems so in the beginning. Unfortunately, so she seems also in the end. Why does she love Maryan? I actually don't know. (Especially given the many character flaws he reveals..)

Secondly, while there are a few memorable tracks that fit the moment well, many times in the movie I was stunned by how out-of-place the music seemed. Maryan is desperate at the hands of his kidnappers, and suddenly some upbeat track starts. If scenes were affecting me, well the beat threw that out as soon as it started. This was AR Rahman? I don't understand!

Much kudos for providing a strong female lead. Perhaps a second watching will allow some links to click and empathy to grow. However, for now it remains an artsy movie that tried.

To be honest, if I dwell any longer on this, the more likely I am to partially rescind my praise and deign Parvati's acting 'very good' instead of 'brilliant'. Reviewers I admire, did we watch the same movie??

I'm quite surprised that this movie hasn't got a higher rating on IMDb. Anegan showed me how well Dhanush can act. His modern day persona Ashwin fell a bit flat for me, perhaps because character-wise he's the dullest and there isn't much character development, but Dhanush's portrayals of Murugappa and Kaali were fantastic.

I wish the female characters were stronger. Actually, they're far from weak personalities, yet we're not shown how their strength of character carries over outside the realm of finding their soulmate and never letting them go. Amyra's character is a perpetual damsel- in-distress needing Dhanush's character to take care of her. That said, I think Amyra delivered excellently.

Aside from a few unanswered questions I have (deleted scenes seem to provide some answers) and a little salt for the extra implausibility of villain's demise in the end, Anegan was beautifully shot, well executed and very entertaining!

Update: I revisited the film and feel I have to mention that Anegan has great supporting characters. And, I can't get the soundtrack out of my head.