Maayavi (transl. Magician) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film directed by Singampuli that stars Suriya and Jyothika who plays a fictional version of herself, whilst Vijayakanth makes a cameo.[1] The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The plot is loosely based on the novel The Fan Club by Irving Wallace.
| Maayavi | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Singampuli |
| Written by | Singampuli Viji (dialogues) |
| Produced by | Kalaipuli S. Thanu Bala |
| Starring | Suriya Jyothika Sathyan |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | Devi Sri Prasad |
Production companies | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 135 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editAbhes Balaiya (Suriya), the guide conman thief, is footloose and fancy-free. He and his acolyte Sathyaraj (Sathyan) have no hangups in life. Balaiya’s problems start when he and Sathyaraj land up in a huge villa on the beachfront. It is actually actress Jyothika’s (Jyothika) house. When they realize it, they want to replace what they have taken. As it happens, the actress catches them and creates a huge issue out of it. For their efforts, they are put behind bars. Jyothika does not like Balaiya at all. Balaiya goes out to take revenge on her and kidnap her. Just about when the whole industry and her family tries to trace Jyothika, she understands the real Balaiya. In the end, Balaiya comes to see her and gives her a gift, which is the photographs they took together.
Cast
editAs per the film's opening credits:[2]
- Suriya as Abhes Balayya
- Jyothika as herself
- Sathyan as Sathyaraj
- Sangili Murugan as Asari
- Himani Shivpuri as Jothika's mother
- Vishnupriya as Sigappi
- Shanmugaraj as Shanmugam
- Aarthi as Constable Eshwari
- Srilekha Rajendran as Asari's wife
- Besant Nagar Ravi as himself
- S. Ramana Girivasan as Inspector Neelakandan
- Ramu as Police officer
- Halwa Vasu as Pickpocket
- Muthukaalai as Chepauk railway station henchman
- Suruli Manohar as Watchman
- Special appearances
- Vijayakanth as himself (uncredited)[1]
- K. S. Ravikumar as himself
- R. B. Choudary as himself
- Roja as herself
- Veerasami as himself[3]
- R. Sundarrajan as himself
- R. Pandiarajan as himself
- Vikram Dharma as himself (uncredited)
- Rocky Rajesh as himself (uncredited)
- Appukutty as Man at volleyball game (uncredited)[4]
Production
editDirector Bala forayed into production with this film.[5] Jyothika dubbed for herself.[6]
Soundtrack
edit| Maayavi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released |
| |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 24:45 | |||
| Label | Ayngaran Music An Ak Audio | |||
| Producer | Devi Sri Prasad | |||
| Devi Sri Prasad chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film's soundtrack, was scored by Devi Sri Prasad, marking his first collaboration with Suriya. Devi Sri Prasad reused the songs "Gongura Ura Thotakada" and "Mass to Pettunkute Madathadi Poddi" (Silakemo) from Venky and reused them as "Kaathadi Pole" and "Tamizh Naattil", respectively.[7] The song "Kadavul Thantha Azhakiya Vaalvu" is based on "Eppudu" from Sontham.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jo Jo Jothika" | Palani Bharathi | Tippu, Sudha | 5:32 |
| 2. | "Kadavul Thantha Azhakiya Vaalvu" | Palani Bharathi | Kalpana, S. P. B. Charan | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Tamizh Naattil" | Kabilan | Palakkad Sreeram, Malathy Lakshman | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Oru Dhevaloga Raani" | Yugabharathi | Sumangali | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Mayavi" | Pa. Vijay | K. S. Chithra, Ranjith, Devi Sri Prasad | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Kaathadi Pole" | Na. Muthukumar | Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Kalpana Raghavendar | 2:19 |
Release and reception
editThe Hindu wrote how the idea of an actress being kidnapped was present in the film Vaaname Ellai.[8] Behindwoods noted that "Surya has given a superb performance. Jyothika is cute but does her bit of overacting".[9] BizHat wrote "The downside of the film lies in the second half when the action shifts to a room with three characters only. A more innovative way could have made the film more interesting and racy."[10] Chennai Online gave a negative review citing "It's meant to be a total comic entertainer, but the comedy being mostly juvenile, it starts grating on your nerves after a time."[11] Visual Dasan of Kalki wrote a rusted screenplay doesn't need a grand plot. The first requirement is interesting and non-boring incidents. Mayavi is a colorful example of this.[12] Sify wrote "Mayaavi is a jolly fun ride in the first half for its cute concept and silly slapstick comedy. The storyline has been explored earlier by Hollywood directors and later by Ramgopal Varma with Mast and recently in a Malayalam film Immini Nalloral. But the second half lags with too many unwanted sentiments and offers little in the way of surprise in the climax".[13] The film was dubbed in Telugu as Kidnap (2006).[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "Suriya goes nostalgic, recalls his experiences onTwitter". Sify. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015.
- ^ Kalaippuli S Thanu. "Maayavi Full Movie | Suriya | Jyothika | Singampuli | Devi Sri Prasad". YouTube. Event occurs at 51:35.
- ^ "THE MOST FAMOUS UNKNOWNS!". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Kalaippuli S Thanu. "Maayavi Full Movie | Suriya | Jyothika | Singampuli | Devi Sri Prasad". YouTube. Event occurs at 51:35.
- ^ "Maayavi, Bala's production venture". The Hindu. 21 September 2004. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021.
- ^ "Jyothika's voice". Behindwoods. 3 March 2005. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Kidnap". Indiaglitz. 6 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ ""Maayavi"". The Hindu. 18 March 2005. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ "Maayavi Movie Review". Behindwoods. 19 March 2005. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "BizHat.com - Mayaavi Review. Surya, Jothika, Vijayakanth". movies.bizhat.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Maayavi". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ தாசன், விஷுவல் (27 March 2005). "மாயாவி". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 88. Retrieved 19 April 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Mayaavi". Sify. Archived from the original on 20 September 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2024.