"Mayakoothu"
Cast: Nagarajan Kannan: Writer – Vasan Delhi Ganesh: Magazine Editor Varadarajan Mu Ramaswamy: Sculptor – Vasan's mentor Dr. S.K. Gayathri: Vasan's wife – Indu Sai Deena: Gangster – Dhanapal Aishwarya Ragupathi: Maid – Selvi Karthik Sreenivasan: Carpenter – Ramesh Reka Kumaran: Housewife – Radhika Dinesh Sellaiya: Radhika's husband – Ashok Mrudula: Student – Raji Pragadeeshwaran: Farmer – Raji's father D. Antony Janaki: Raji's mother Murugan Govindasamy: Auto driver – Chandru K Gopal: Astrologer – Lakshmana Upasagar Manikandan Veeramuthu: Gas delivery man
Plot Summary: As a writer for a weekly series in a magazine, Vasan (Nagarajan Kannan) claims to be the god of the fictional universe he creates through his storytelling. His serial connects multiple storylines together. Selvi (Aishwarya Ragupathi) and Ramesh (Karthik Sreenivasan) struggle to send their son to school. Selvi, who works as a domestic help, is accused of stealing a ₹2000 note. There's a gangster leader Dhanapal (Sai Deena) on the verge of his 50th murder, and Raji (Mrudula), a farmer's daughter who dreams of medical school. Due to her family's severe poverty, she loses her parents' encouragement to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor.
Vasan refuses to grant proper justice and rights to his characters, instead wanting to plunge them into greater tragedy. This causes the characters from his three stories to become trapped in predicaments. The fictional characters from all three stories, angry that their creator is the cause of all their problems, appear one by one at the creator's doorstep, demanding justice for their tragic fates and forcing him to face the consequences of his storytelling. How writer Vasan escapes from these fictional characters forms the rest of Mayakoothu's story.
Performance Review: Nagarajan Kannan, in the role of the arrogant writer Vasan, remains very firm in his decisions. He fits perfectly into the mindset befitting a writer. When the characters he created come against him and cause mental distress, he expresses how he confronts this through excellent acting.
Delhi Ganesh (magazine editor Varadarajan), Mu Ramaswamy (sculptor – Vasan's mentor), Dr. S.K. Gayathri (Vasan's wife – Indu), Sai Deena (gangster – Dhanapal), Aishwarya Ragupathi (maid – Selvi), Karthik Sreenivasan (carpenter – Ramesh), Reka Kumaran (housewife – Radhika), Dinesh Sellaiya (Radhika's husband – Ashok), Mrudula (student – Raji), Pragadeeshwaran (farmer – Raji's father), D. Antony Janaki (Raji's mother), Murugan Govindasamy (auto driver – Chandru), K Gopal (astrologer – Lakshmana Upasagar), and Manikandan Veeramuthu (gas delivery man) all act in different roles across the three stories. They all deliver powerful performances, adding vitality to the unique screenplay and taking us into the wonderful depths of this magical assembly.
Technical Excellence: Cinematographer Sundar Ram Krishnan's visual angles, music composer Anjana Rajagopalan's music and background score, and editor Nagooran Ramachandran's neat editing that makes the story clearly understandable - these technical artists have made excellent contributions, engaging viewers with the vibrant flow of the story.
Director A.R. Raghavendra, collaborating with writer M. Srinivasan, has cinematically presented a three-dimensional story that operates through a writer's mindset, the consequences of imagination, and fictional characters from the writer's perspective, through an innovative screenplay at a brisk pace.
Technical Crew: Writer-Director: A.R. Raghavendra Producers: Rahul Deva – Prasad Ramachandran Associate Producers: Gopicanth Vakwala, Sonia Sabarwal & Arjun Sabarwal Production Companies: Rahul Movie Makers – Abhimanyu Creations Executive Producer: Rahul Deva Creative Producer: Sundar Ram Krishnan Story-Screenplay: A.R. Raghavendra – M. Srinivasan Dialogues: Nagarajan Kannan Cinematographer: Sundar Ram Krishnan Editor: Nagooran Ramachandran Music: Anjana Rajagopalan Lyrics: Nagarajan Kannan – Gaber Vasuki Animation: Aditi Harikumar Art Director: K.P. Nandu Sound Designer: Duraiseedu Fight Choreographer: S.R. Harimurugan Production Manager: Raja Pakkirisamy Trailer Editor: Anil Krishnan Teaser Editor: S. Vinod Kumar Public Relations: Reka
