Maaveeran

<p>Sathya is a who writes and illustrates a about a brave warrior named for the Tamil newspaper . However, he is also a coward who has been unable to stand up for himself ever since his father was killed several years ago in his fight against the existing system. He allows an employee at to take credit for due to his cowardice. Nila, a sub-editor at the paper, takes a stand on Sathya’s behalf, securing the same job that the previous sub-editor misused his skills for. Eventually, they both fall in love. Sathya and his family, comprising his widowed mother, Eshwari, and younger sister, Raji, along with his neighbours, are forced to move out of their slum and relocate to a high-rise apartment building by the to improve their living conditions. But within a few hours of moving in, the apartment’s flaws get exposed because of shoddy construction, crumbling walls due to unstable foundation, broken doors, poorly installed windows, and the ceiling falling apart. Eshwari confronts the , Dhanraj, and the local councillor Paguthi. A drunk Dhanraj enters Sathya’s apartment unnoticed by Eshwari and force opens the bathroom door while Raji is inside, taking a shower. Sathya gets home and panics at the site of the messy condition of his apartment. He learns what Dhanraj had done to his sister and how Dhanraj hit his mother for questioning him. Enraged, Sathya goes to Dhanraj carrying a pencil as a weapon, but he and his goons humiliate and threaten him. Sathya returns home to find his mother ashamed of his cowardly nature and decides to die. He attempts by jumping from the top floor of an apartment but decides not to after a moment of contemplation. However, he slips and falls, causing a serious head injury. Kumar, Eshwari, and Raji admit him to the hospital. Sathya dies shortly after being admitted. Upon waking, Sathya experiences a mysterious voice, speaking like the narrator of the Maaveeran strip, that guides him in making decisions, including fighting the corrupt , M. N. Jeyakodi. Sathya, guided by a mysterious voice, exposes the poor construction of an apartment, making him a hero among the residents. Jeyakodi’s secretary, Paramu, learns of the mysterious voice guiding Sathya and Sathya’s reluctance to fight Jeyakodi and decides to use it to benefit Jeyakodi. Paramu forces Sathya to reveal the voice on live television, forcing him to fight Jeyakodi and claim the apartment’s construction is good, framing Sathya as “mentally unstable,” and the building people throw his family. Jeyakodi refuses to forgive Sathya and thrashes him, but Sathya refuses to fight back. The voice stops, claiming Sathya betrayed his family and the apartment dwellers for his gain. Sathya returns to find his family homeless and feels guilty for leaving them homeless. He decides to create his own story and expose the unsafe construction of an apartment complex. In the process, Sathya steals the building inspection documents from Jeyakodi. However, Jeyakodi kills Paramu when he advises him to reveal the apartment’s collapse and evacuate the dwellers. He asks his henchmen to drown Sathya and Paramu’s bodies in the sea. Sathya drowns himself, and he starts hearing the mysterious voice again. He fights the henchmen and returns to the apartment, where he unsuccessfully tries to convince the dwellers to evacuate the building as it could collapse at any moment. Jayakodi comes and convinces the dwellers that everything will be fixed after the election. Sathya mocks Jeyakodi and challenges him to stay in the apartment if he is confident it won’t collapse. A fight ensues, and Sathya fights off Jayakodi’s henchmen without the voice’s support. The dwellers believe Sathya and evacuate just in time. The building starts collapsing, with the apartment sign fatally falling on Jeyakodi, killing him. Sathya saves his neighbour’s daughter, Ilavarasi, but the apartment collapses, leaving Sathya inside. The dwellers search for Sathya, who is found beneath the rubble, seemingly dead. Two years later, with another government in place, the apartment is rebuilt with dwellers in a loop and strong construction. Sathya miraculously survives the collapse and works for Dhina Thee, writing and illustrating Maaveeran. However, the incident permanently deafens him, but his reflexes sharpen. Ilavarasi questions Sathya’s survival, and it becomes clear that the enigmatic voice has reappeared, breathing life back into him in the aftermath of the collapse. In December 2021, it was reported that had signed his next venture after (2022) and his film with , which became (2022). Madonne Ashwin, who previously directed the critically acclaimed 2021 film , was reported to direct the venture, while , under the banner of Vels Films International, would produce it and production was set to begin in July 2022. On 15 July, Arun Viswa of Shanti Talkies officially announced the project, stating he would produce it. The official title, , was announced the same day. Bharath Shankar, who worked with Ashwin for , was chosen to compose the score, while Vidhu Ayyanna was chosen to handle the cinematography. A puja was held on 3 August with the presence of the film’s cast and crew at a film city in . Sivakarthikeyan played a cartoonist named Sathya, who starts hearing a voice in his head after an accident. In June 2022, was reported to play the antagonist. His commitments to the film was confirmed in August. He played the role of the antagonist in the film, Jeyakodi, a politician. was reported to play the lead female, however, in August, was announced playing the lead female role, doing so for second time after (2022). She played the role as Nila, Sathya’s love interest and the sub-editor for newspaper company . Along with Aditi, was also announced doing a role in the film. She was last seen in (2013), marking as her 10-year comeback to the film industry. She played Eshwari, the mother of Sathya and Raji. played as a construction worker named Kumar. marked the eighth collaboration of Yogi Babu and Sivakarthikeyan. Telugu-actor played the role as Paramu, Jeyakodi’s personal assistant. Monisha Blessy played Raji, Sathya’s sister and Eshwari’s daughter. The film marked her acting debut. was cast as the voice in Sathya’s head, and charged no remuneration. “The film is set in and around Chennai, and so, the looks of these characters will be in alignment with that. We are planning to shoot the film in two-three schedules, on a single stretch, with small breaks in between.” was launched in with a customary function on 17 July 2022. began on 3 August 2022 with the entire cast and crew in . After a month, filming was halted for a week. There were reports that filming had stopped due to creative differences between Sivakarthikeyan and Ashwin. But the real reason was heavy rain. Filming ultimately resumed on 7 November. By 23 November 40% of the film was shot and by 8 December, about 60% of the film’s shooting was completed. Also, an important schedule of action sequences was completed on 10 December which was choregraphed by stunt director Yannick Ben. The of a song from the film, “Scene Ah Scene Ah”, revealed that it was shot with a mocobot camera, making the fifth Tamil film to do so after (2022), (2022), (2023) and (2023). The crew then started filming for 20 consecutive days in by the end of February with majority of the portions being shot at night. The final schedule of filming began on 17 March in . A huge set resembling a huge boat was erected there. Sivakarthikeyan finished filming for his portions on 27 March. Principal photography after shooting some patch works by 3 June. Sivakarthikeyan started dubbing his portions in late May 2023 and finished in early June. Aditi started dubbing for her portions in early-June. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Bharath Sankar in his first collaboration with Sivakarthikeyan and second with Madonne after . The audio rights were bagged by . The first single “Scene Ah Scene Ah” was released on 17 February 2023, on the occasion of Sivakarthikeyan’s birthday. The second single “Vannarapettayila” was released on 14 June, and the third single “Vaa Veera” on 7 July. released theatrically on 14 July 2023. The film was initially scheduled for release on 11 August 2023, however, to avoid a box office clash with , the makers advanced it to 14 July. The distribution rights for the film in Tamil Nadu were bought by and in and states by Asian Cinemas. The film’s streaming rights were acquired by for 33 crore, while the satellite rights were sold to . The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 11 August 2023 in , along with dubbed versions in and languages. received positive reviews from critics. On the website , of 6 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. Soundarya Athimuthu of gave 4 out of 5 and wrote that “‘Sivakarthikeyan’s well-crafted fantasy action entertainer.” M Suganth of gave the film 3 out of 5 and wrote “Sivakarthikeyan shines in an engaging but overlong fantasy entertainer.” Janaki K. of gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote ” is yet another solid entertainer that makes you enjoy and retrospect. It brings forth prevailing issues, such as corruption, poverty and petty politics. But, it is also a character study of how people will have to revolt for their basic rights.” Swami Ji Bhuvanesh Chandar of wrote ” is a story about the inner voice that asks you to do the right thing, driving home a point to those who turn a blind eye until the waves crash their homes; Siva aces this high-concept actioner that also respects commercial cinema sensibilities.” Kirubhakar Purushothaman of gave the film 3 out of 5 and wrote “Sivakarthikeyan’s superhero film is good but predictable.” Swathi P Ajith of wrote “All in all, is an immensely captivating and enjoyable film, which can arguably be seen as Sivakarthikeyan’s comeback in Tamil cinema.” Sowmya Rajendran of gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote “Sivakarthikeyan’s superhero film is simple and mostly fun.” P Sangeetha of gave the film 3.5 out of 5, stating, “Madonne Ashwin’s Maaveeran is laced with a gripping screenplay, hilarious one-liners, mass moments and some fantastic performances. While the role of Sathya seems to be tailor-made for Sivakarthikeyan, Yogi Babu, Mysskin and Saritha’s performances, too, pack a punch. Needless to say, Vijay Sethpathi’s voiceover elevates the film to a different level. In short, Maaveeran is a delight to watch.” Sudhir Srinivasan of gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating, “It’s a time in our cinema when talented filmmakers like Madonne Ashwin are showing that they are unafraid of punching up.” Priyanka Sundar of rated the film 3.5 out of 5, stating, “Director Madonne Ashwin has taken a simple story of a man finding courage during dark times and made it into a comedy that left the theatre echoing rousing cheers and loud laughter.” gave the film 45 out of 100. Krishna Selvaseelan of awarded the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing, “‘Maaveeran’ is an entertaining film; it has the usual blend of what the Tamil audience loves about the masala formula, with a twist to the tale which elevates the narrative.”</p>