'Mayilu' intelligent, but not engrossing (Tamil Movie Review)

Film: "Mayilu"; Cast: Shri, Shammu, Ananda Vel, Murugan and Ponnusamy; Director: Jeevan; Rating: **1/2

"Mayilu" is an intelligent film about the effect of superstition on the lives of families in Tamil Nadu. If you were to dissect the film minute by minute, you may probably find a few thought-provoking moments, otherwise slow and boring screenplay fails to engage the audience.

In some small village in Tamil Nadu live Mayilu and Pandi, who have immense liking towards each other. Pandi is the son of the head of the village panchayat, and, therefore, he is liked and respected by one and all.

Happiness to the villagers comes in the form of celebrating smallest moments of triumphs such as being part of a family wedding.

According to the villagers, every year while celebrating one of their religious rituals, it is believed that their village god will incarnate. Incidentally, that year, due to familial pressure, Pandi gets chosen and eventually worshipped as god. What follows forms the rest of the story.

The film presents numerous thought-provoking moments that may appear silly, but brings forth ignorance of these people who despite being alien to rapidly changing global culture find solace in doing these stupid things.

In one particular scene, when some livestock die of an epidemic, villagers come to conclusion that it's because they didn't religiously execute few rituals that were supposed to have done with utmost involvement.

The film lacked convincing screenplay thus disappoint majority of the audience. Had only the director spent some time on the script, instead of throwing these superstitious moments, the film would've made an impact.

The cast featuring mostly newcomers and actors one has hardly seen on the big screen, "Mayilu" has few satisfying performances.

The dubbing for the lead cast has gone completely off the track. There are scenes when you see their mouth almost shut, but still hear them speaking fluently.

It's good to know actor Prakash Raj believed in the director and produced the film, which may not have live up to his expectations, but will definitely be remembered as one of his good projects.