Mersal

I watched "Mersal" yesterday. I was very hyped after watching teaser but after seeing the movie I was disappointed. I thought movie will be different but it was a routine revenge film. I loved Vijay's and Atlee's previous collaboration "Theri" it had very strong emotional scenes and it was a good movie. But Mersal was a 2.49 hour mess.

What I liked :-

1. Filming locations. 2. Actress Samantha and VJ off course. 3. Aalaporan Thamizhan song.

What I disliked :-

1. Its length. 2. Routine story !! shown in a different way.

I went to this film after a colleague recommended it. I'll be frank I wasn't fond of the really random dance sequences (as an American they're a bit too random for me, though Mr. Vijay can dance really well) but the film got those out of the way early. I was told a couple things about this film before going in- it is a huge "mass masala" so it fuses many different genres together. And that the actor, Vijay, is an enormous superstar in the Tamil state who the people really adore. As soon as the film started, the audience whistled and cheered at just his name appearing on the screen! And then when he first appears in the film, the audience was overjoyed and so many cheers, I've never been among a crowd like that. It's crazy I hadn't seen a film by Vijay yet but I got chills seeing how much the audience loved him. And throughout the film, it was too easy to see why: spectacular performances as 3 different people, and he nailed them all. Especially the village role, was a terrific and moving performance, he has a huge screen presence and powerful flair about him. I've noticed that the Indian superstars are really a class apart in this, I can see these select few are at that level due to these certain intangibles that have won over the audience, its an trait I don't see in even the biggest of Hollywood actors. Anyway about the actual film's story, the beginning had more comedic elements, I didn't understand some of the jokes, but that's okay because there is tons more to this film. I felt the first female character was completely unnecessary and the second one was acceptable but also not needed. The third actress, however, was GREAT! Nithya Mennon is her name, she and Vijay in the second half brought tears to my eyes repeatedly, I didn't expect to be so moved! I had similar reactions to some really heart-wrenching scenes in the first half as well, the film had lots of emotional power at its core. The film was unique to me in that Vijay's characters stood up so strongly against corruption, malpractices and deception by the medical industry, especially against the poor people- the people who need it the most but end up also losing the most in these scenarios. A new subject for me, handled so well. I'm not aware of what the medical policies for patients in India are like, do people always pay before the treatment or is that just certain types of hospitals? Some questions I would just ask my colleagues on Monday. Another thing was when Vijay's characters said certain dialogues, the crowd cheered and clapped a lot, especially during his speech scenes where he criticizes many injustices in front of large crowds in the film. Not only did the crowd in the film cheer strongly, so did my audience! It was as if I was in the film. And the action!! It was tremendous, lots of intense fight scenes with nice use of wire-work. Every hit by Mr. Vijay felt powerful with lots of emotions to it: these aren't your normal "beat up the bad guys because they're against you" fight scenes but rather they felt like a man who has had to go through so much emotional pain that every punch and kick roared of justice. And wow was the crowd happy and loud during these fights! Wonderful experience really, I laughed, cried and was also really fired up during the film. I'm interested to watch more of Vijay's films now and I will definitely anticipate when his next film releases.

Watched Mersal on First Day !! Ignoring some logical loopholes and the film's length, the film is surely one of the best mass masala entertainer from Vijay and Kollywood in recent times.

Pros: Performances b all characters,Characterization for each and everyone,Cinematography,Action Sequences,Emotional dialogues, Climax,Screenplay(maintained a slow but nice pace),Social Messages,Music and Editing.

Cons: Length and Loopholes

3 hours is a bit too much for any film.There are some logical loopholes but the best part about them is, you will only realize their existence after the film ends.

Cinematography is colorful(giving the tone for the film)and each frame is crystal-clear.It is done by GK.Vishnu.He makes his debut via Mersal.Action Sequences are very good, which includes magic tricks.They are interesting to watch.ARR songs are the best and the BGM is divine at times, esp. emotional scenes . Performances are very good, especially Vijay, Nithya Menen and Kaali Venkat's performances are very good. Kaali Venkat once again proves that he can also do character roles.Social messages in this film are very relevant to the current state of India.They also raise awareness about medical corruption in India.

Final note: Though the film's story is old,it's presentation makes it a treat to watch.TREAT A REAL TREAT TO WATCH !!!!!!

Just masss . Vijay proves everytime why he is the top star of TN.

wow just wow .. even though the story is predictable the presentation of the movie is marvelous. the whole movie is carried out till the end by Vijay. and all the other cast members done their job very well. now DOP i heard its an Debutant but the scenes gave visual treat.Asusual Rahman sir never lets us down. i can see Hardwork and dedication of Atlee and Vijay at their best.i felt that this is the best movie of Vijay's career.