MASSS
DIRECTOR: Venkat Prabhu
CAST: Jeyaram, Nayanthara, Parthiban, Pranitha, Premgi Amaran, Suriya
CLASSIFICATION: TBA
RUNNING TIME: 151 minutes
RATING: ***
MASSS (Massu Engira Masilamani) has been released amid much expectation even though the film-makers chose not to hype the movie prior to its release. Have their tactics worked? What does the Suriya flick have to offer?
Plot: Suriya and his friend Premgi are two conmen who are forced to steal some money from a gang. They meet with a major accident while returning with the money. After recovering from the accident, Suriya learns that he has acquired the ability to see ghosts and spirits. A few ghosts approach Suriya asking him for certain favours, one among them is another Suriya (with the Ceylon slang). After having lost his money in the accident, Suriya decides to help the spirits and in return, the spirits help him to earn some extra bucks.
Performances: As expected, Suriya has once again delivered. Special efforts taken by him to get his Ceylon slang right coupled with his near-perfect body language are praise-worthy. Other bright performances come from Parthiban, who shines with his witty one- liners as a cool cop and Samuthirakani who impresses as a baddie. On the down side, Nayantara, Pranitha and Premgi give the impression that they are a mismatch to the entire script. Nayantara has been underused.
Technicalities: What stands out is Venkat Prabhu’s writing and Yuvan’s powerful background score. While the director keeps us guessing throughout with lots of twists and turns, Yuvan again proves that he usually reserves his best for Venkat’s movies. Editor Praveen KL makes sure the plot doesn’t become predictable with his unusual cuts. On the flip side, he keeps the run time just below par which becomes one of the negatives of this film. Cinematographer RD Rajasekhar adds value to the film with his refreshing angles. His use of colours improves the overall feel of the movie. What lets it down is not just the technical aspect, but the the movie’s poor CG work. With a few directors trying to take Tamil cinema to the next level with amazing visual effects, Masss disappoints in that graphics play an important part in a movie like this.
Overall View: Thanks to Suriya’s brilliant performance and Venkat’s intriguing story- telling ability, Masss will be enjoyed by the masses albeit poor VFX hindering the quality of the movie.
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