Language: TAMIL
Director: Lawrence Raghavendra
Producer: Saran
Cast: Raj kiran, Vedika, M S Baskar, S N Lakshmi, Kovai Sarala
Music: Bharadwaj
It is a straight six from Larencce’s bat. The choreographer-turned-director has got all the basics right in the supernatural thriller which has enough loads of fun and action.
Kudos to him for thinking out of the box by rendering a film which is quite different from the commercial clichés of contemporary Tamil cinema where the hero mouths punch dialogues, fists his muscles and romances the heroine running around the trees in exotic foreign locales.
In a nutshell, Muni is a tale of vengeance. A do-gooder is killed by an influential politician and he takes revenge through a youth possessed by his spirit.
Larencce is not the same actor one saw in his earlier films like Parthalae Paravasam or Arputham in Tamil. Years of experience has made him more mature. He is expressive and very much spontaneous on the screen. Bubbling with enthusiasm, Larencce as Ganesh in the film walks away with all honours. His electrifying performance lends solidity to the film.
Rajkiran is perhaps the ‘Rahul Dravid of Tamil cinema.’ Quite like the Indian skipper on the ground, Rajkiran does his role with passion on the screen. He leads the way with his excellent performance. A seasoned actor, Rajkiran has continued from where he left in Thavamai Thavamirundhu.
Vedika as Larencce’s wife chips in with her best. She has shown immense promise. ‘Kadhal’ Dhandapani is a true revelation. His subtle performance does deserve a special mention. The movie has a huge star cast which includes the likes of Vinu Chakravarthy, Kovai Sarala and Rahul Dev.
Ganesh (Larencce) along with his wife (Vedika) and his parents settles down in Chennai. A God-fearing youth, Ganesh comes to know that his house is possessed by a spirit.
A sequence of events results in the spirit entering his body. The spirit reveals in a flashback the purpose of his entry into Ganesh’s body.
Muniyandi (Rajkiran), a do-gooder, is admired and adored by everyone for his good acts. The local MLA Dhandapani (Dhandapani), who lives with great political aspirations, wants to win the polls again. He manages to convince Muniyandi to help his cause. Only after the latter’s victory does Muniyandi come to know of his true colours. However, Dhandapani manages a conspiracy and bumps off Muniyandi.
With an urge to teach the evil men a lesson, Muniyandi’s spirit enters Ganesh’s body. Does it succeed forms the crux of the story.
All credit goes to producer Saran. His courage to produce a novel theme deserves mention. We wonder how many producers would have the guts to produce such films. His confidence would certainly pay him rich dividends.
Bharadwaj’s catchy tunes, especially in Varanda Varanda Muni Varanda, are very catchy. The song shot in the Muni Temple in Chennai is a major highlight of the movie.
Larencce has packaged the end product with the right elements. It is certainly a colourful treat for the audience.
A visual treat from Larencce is Muni.