Maareesan, directed by Sudheesh Sankar, is a mystery thriller par excellence, with dramatic twists that, while seemingly unrealistic, are highly entertaining and, above all, deeply rewarding. It's always a pleasure to watch Fahadh Faasil on screen, and I must say the film benefited greatly from Vadivelu's colorful portrayal of an ordinary man, anguished and burdened by the system. So let's find out what happened in Maareesan and how the protagonist, whose sole intention was to rob a defenseless old man, found himself caught in a web of chaos.
After serving a sentence in Palayamkottai Jail, Dhayalan, also known as Dhayal, was released and, without wasting a second, began stealing everything he could get his hands on. He obtained money, stole a cell phone, and eventually, a bicycle from a movie theater parking lot. Dhayal arrived at a house and couldn't understand why he felt the urge to break in and steal. He was probably meant to be there at that moment, because otherwise, there would be no logic to what happened next. He entered the house and found a man named Velayudham Pillai, chained to his window, near the bed. The man addressed Dhayal as Kumar, and for a moment, he didn't understand what was happening.
Director: Sudheesh Sankar
Writers: Krishna Moorthy, V Krishna Moorthy
Stars: Fahadh Faasil, Vadivelu, Sithara
Apparently, Velayudham suffered from Alzheimer's or dementia, and there were phases when he remembered nothing. Velayudham asked Dhayal to free him, and Dhayal offered him 10,000 rupees in return. Velayudham said that although he didn't have any money, he could withdraw it from an ATM and give it to him. Surprisingly, Velayudham remembered his PIN, and Dhayal saw that there were around 25 lakh rupees in his account. Dhayal decided that unless he stole that money, he wouldn't part with it. The reason Dhayalan became a thief was because he had grown tired of his mundane life and was eager to escape it.
He learned that Velayudham was heading to his brother-in-law's house in Tiruvanamalai, and cunningly offered to give him a ride, hoping that Velayudham would find a way to rob the old man of every last penny. On his way, Dhayalan noticed that Velayudham had two ATM cards, so he asked his friend Ganesh to make copies of the cards. Velayudham constantly altered his stories and destinies, and Dhayalan found it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction, never knowing where fantasy ended and reality began. There came a time when Dhayal just wanted to use the duplicate card and steal all the money, but Velayudham couldn't remember the ATM PIN. Dhayal knew he couldn't give Velayudham any reason to doubt his intentions, so he stayed with him, putting up with his idiosyncrasies. Dhayal didn't know that it wasn't him who was deceiving Velayudham, but the other way around. It was a classic case of the hunted hunter, and Dhayal was completely oblivious to reality.
Dhayal was stalling for time because he desperately wanted to know Velayudham's ATM PIN. One day, he saw a pile of broken SIM cards inside Velayudham's wallet. Dhayal realized the old man was up to something. He kept his phone's camera on to find out what Velayudham was doing when he wasn't there. Dhayal left the room and later, through the footage, saw Velayudham putting something in his drink. It was then that Dhayal put the pieces together. He understood why he woke up so late every morning since he started drinking with Velayudham. That night, Dhayal followed Velayudham, and it was then revealed that the man had killed three people so far.
Dhayal believed Velayudham was a human trafficker, ruining the lives of innocent girls. His circumstances may have made him a thief, but even he had certain ethics and morals. He began to despise the old man after reading the messages on his phone and discovering that he was prostituting girls for a client named Arun. But Dhayal misinterpreted the situation. He didn't know why Velayudham murdered such people. Velayudham's wife, Meenakshi, was a psychiatrist and treated many underage girls who were victims of sexual abuse.
It was Meenakshi who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and Velayudham watched his beloved wife's condition worsen every day. Sometimes, the woman would wake up in the middle of the night and start cooking breakfast because she couldn't remember the time of day. Meenakshi was once a key witness in a sexual abuse case, but due to her failing memory, she was unable to assist the victim in court. The accused was released, and Meenakshi couldn't bear the guilt. The poor woman took her own life, but before she breathed her last, she handed a list of the perpetrators to Velayudham, believing him to be the police superintendent.
Velayudham had murdered three people so far, all of them accused of sexual abuse but released due to lack of evidence. Velayudham, posing as Sundaram from Dubai, was trying to find Arun, a close friend of Siva Selvam, an accused. Siva was a teacher and had sexually abused a couple of students. Dhayal had no idea that Velayudham was doing what the country's legal system couldn't. Yes, he wasn't acting properly, but I don't think Velayudham cared about being fair as long as those responsible paid for their actions. Dhayal called Ganesh and told him that Velayudham was a pedophile.
Ganesh told Dhayal that they should take Velayudham to his farm and teach him a lesson. Dhayal agreed, but then the biggest revelation came: Ganesh was the fourth attacker, Arun, a friend of Siva Selvam, whom Velayudham had been searching for for some time. Velayudham wouldn't have realized it if he hadn't seen the stuffed animal hanging in Ganesh's car. The moment he recognized it as the same man Arun had seen in the WhatsApp photo, Arun, alias Ganesh, also understood that if he didn't kill the man, he would reveal his secrets. Ganesh attacked Velayudham after arriving at his farm, but before he could kill him, Dhayal, who was following them on a bicycle, arrived. Ganesh asked Dhayal to kill Velayudham, but in the end, he didn't, as he had discovered the truth about Velayudham and what Ganesh was hiding from him.
Velayudham had called Dhayal, and Dhayal heard every word of his conversation with Ganesh. It was Dhayal who killed Ganesh, as he felt disgusted by him and couldn't contain himself. But when the police arrived, Velayudham took the blame and confessed to all four murders.
In the ending of Maareesan, Velayudham confessed everything in court; He told the judge what had happened to his wife and claimed to be blameless for taking the lives of those lustful men who had ruined the lives of so many innocent girls. The court found Velayudham guilty and acquitted Dhayal due to lack of evidence. A judge declared that the final verdict would be delivered within a week, so we never found out how many years Velayudham would spend behind bars. He will undoubtedly have to serve a certain number of years, but I guess the court will consider his just motives and show some kind of mercy.
As for Dhayal, he knew he had found someone to call father. We also saw earlier that Velayudham left a check for 10 lakh rupees, and Dhayal's mother was stunned to see it. When she called Dhayal to tell him, her perspective on Velayudham changed completely. Until then, she had only treated him as someone she wanted to rob, but then she saw his goodness. He saw that the man was sensitive enough to perceive that Dhayal was a thief just because of his circumstances.
Velayudham had told him that Dhayal wasn't a bad man and that, given the chance, he could straighten out his life and not get involved in illegal activities. Generally, when someone is labeled a thief, it's assumed they can't be trusted. But that wasn't the case with Dhayal, and Velayudham saw in him the goodness that others overlooked. He had gone there with the intention of robbing Velayudham, but the man's generosity, altruism, and kindness taught him a profound lesson. He jokingly commented that he had discovered Velayudham's ATM PIN; it could have been his wife's birthday.
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