Maya - Spine chiller!

Among the recent array of ghost movies that paraded toward Kollywood, some tend to stand out due to various factors. Maya stands out for its fresh content and a spine chilling narrative that has catapulted this movie to the next level. As always this movie needed a star vehicle in the form of Nayanthara to give it a promotional boost which has worked out and now, as with any other ‘watchable’ movie, the real selling point seems to be the script and its presentation. Kudos to debut director Ashwin Saravanan who holds a lot of promise and is expected to break the cliches and norms in his march forward.

Maya’s story has to be seen in order to experience it, as the narrative would seemingly feel complicated when read. The basic plot element is revenge and retribution as in all ghost movies. But a psychic angle was thrown into the fray in order to make things a little more chilling. Also the plot involves a meta movie (movie spun into the main movie) that was beautifully made to run along the narrative. Two seemingly different stories join together post interval to end up in a riveting climax. All through the course there were more than enough chills and thrills.

Aari, who was last seen in ‘Nedunchalai’ has got a meaty role that was not very challenging but had to be performed to tee in order to keep things neat and tidy for a tight narrative. There were a handful of supporting characters including Robo Shankar, Meme Gopi, Lakshmi Priyaa, Amzath Khan and the one who performed the role of an auto driver who added a lot of meat to the presentation. These actors are hardly seen in many movies (barring Robo Shankar) and so the freshness seemed to be inherent in using them. Nayanthara, the movie’s initial selling point was the anchor around which the story revolved. Her performance was in no way spell bounding, but it was very neatly executed and she carried herself with dignity as a mother and an independent woman.

Music by another debutant Ron Ethan Yohann ushered in a eerie feel and the soundtrack is well worth a mention. There were no lip-synced numbers, only a montage soundtrack and another one that plays into the audience’s psyche during key moments. That was another brilliant stroke to keep the audience hooked to the narrative without getting distracted to the numbers played on screen. Cinematography by Sathyan was another cornerstone on which the narrative heavily leant itself. The angles were innovative and various coloring schemes were well thought out and used to convey a particular mood. I would say that this is a typical example for a good visual narrative.

In today’s deceptive movie making ethos, deception seems to be the selling point as far as a good thriller script is concerned. Newcomer Ashwin seems to have understood this nuance and has managed to dish out an authentic spine chilling supernatural thriller that stands out with pride among the fray of ghost movies that washed Kollywood shores in recent times. Congrats to the entire team!

Verdict: Very good!

Rating: 3.25 / 5