Lokesh Kanagaraj | Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan | 2021 | Action Thriller

Master – a big release in kollywood after almost a year. A film release that sowed the seeds of hope in Cinema post pandemic. This third directorial feature of Lokesh Kanagaraj is the talk of the town starring top actors in the country: Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi. Master looks like the new mode of commercial cinema in the industry. From the hype the film had created right from the announcement of Vijay deciding to work with new generation content-driven directors, to almost every time Master made it to the headlines, people watched intently. The production, in an insurmountable task, managed to keep the hope alive despite the release being on hold for eight long months. When an experimental director tries to crack the commercial formula, he ends up creating his own format, and Master is a textbook example of the same.
The story dominantly travels in two settings, St. Jeffrey’s college and the Nagercoil – Neyveli Juvenile school along with its neighbourhood. In terms of time period, there is just a 10 – 15-minute background setting of a fifteen-year-old incident, rest being the present. Master is a unique format for a commercial film in the Industry. As sarcastically stated by Vijay Sethupathi in the film, he the antagonist in the film stood as the hero of the story and his shades and character arc brought the required intensity with added intrigue though the film. Master has a few flaws, but it is majorly for the critics out there. The target audience and the general public pretty much celebrate the film for the level of experiment the film maker has done unlike the actor’s previous directors. The film hit the target audience right at home. Master is one of those films that embark on celebration. Kudos to the production to hold on the film for such a long time even with the insecurity the pandemic had caused.
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj is the talk of the town for his tremendous growth in such a short time. It had potentially diverted his route from the kind of films he does to a commercialized experiment. With an interesting filmography of Maanagaram and Kaithi, Lokesh has yet again created something different in Master. Being Martin Scorsese’s admirer and Kamal Haasan’s fan boy, he always had their impact in his stories and screenplay. Known for a narrative through action, Lokesh has continued the same in this film too. With multiple action sequences and stunts all throughout the film, every scene seems different from the usual unnatural stunt choreographies we’ve seen all these years. Song placements and setting the mood of the film right at the start have dwelled into the film and enhanced the story telling. A major positive from the film maker’s side was how different and imperfect the protagonist’s character was written for a larger than screen picture of Vijay and the conviction to execute it without compromise. Lokesh created an antagonist as intelligent and intense as the protagonist, in fact even stronger and mightier than the protagonist in a couple of scenes which was completely new to the commercial Thamizh cinema format.
Although the film had a mighty casting, the film predominantly travelled between Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi. A drunkard, not so perfect hero and a terrorizing steel fisted Vijay Sethupathi. The initiative to such realistically painted roles has been a call for the industry to do away with traditional shades. Malavika Mohanan wasn’t just another Vijay heroine, she had an important connection to the plot that diverts the whole story with her low screen time. Arjun Das, who plays a juvenile boy fits perfectly into the character and once again proves the kind of actor he is. Mahendran looked like the actual younger Vijay Sethupathi and was the one who initiated the much necessary intensity for Bhavani right at the start. Poovaiyar who played the role of Undiyal – a juvenile boy, had his own mass elements in the story and that even overshadowed the protagonist at times, crafting a delightful experience. Apart from them, Andrea, Shanthanu, Dheena, Ramesh Tilak, Gouri Kishen, etc., had small scene space, but did their parts rightly.
Master is one of the technically strongest films in recent times. The technicians who were few films old showed what talent is when opportunity is given in such films. Cinematographer Sathyan Sooryan portrayed the vision of Lokesh in the most beautiful way. Lokesh’s love for night shots and scenes wouldn’t have come across so beautifully on screen, if not for him. His colour palettes were unusual for a Vijay film and stuck to the story in every possible way. Anirudh’s songs in Master were ruling our playlists for almost a year now, but his background scores have shown us what he is truly capable of. His music sense and audience pulse works rightly all throughout the film. A three-hour long film is no joke when it involves one hundred and forty crores. Although the film was a bit too long for the story, editor Philomin Raj did a pretty decent job in bringing to us the right frames and shots that narrated the story in a more convincing way. In short, Master is an experiment in the waters of commercial cinema, and boy, has it stood the test of time.








