Maara review ; Those who saw Charlie - keep away. Others - Waste of time

 

If you have not seen Malayalam film Charlie, then Maara might hold your attention . Not for the storyline. The visuals by Dinesh – Karthik aided by  art direction( Ajayan Chaliserry) + DI + location , Music ( Ghibran) are worth a watch. If you are a Maddy fan , then you will have took for him. He does an extended cameo. If u saw  Maddy- Sharaddha Srinath combo of Vikram Vedha, then do not go in with any such thoughts.

Looks like director Dhileep ( an adfilm maker) took upon the job of remaking  Charlie with the single mission- how to be different from the original and yet keep to the main plot. This point would have made Maddy interested in the film. Now the adfilm maker has Kerala coastal town houses painted with artistic works ( the `system’ in this place respects art and hence will not demolish such houses). Beautiful picturesque frames with excellent colorist and a Ghibran let loose.

Now as I have decided to wipe all memory of Charlie, the story of Maara is like this – Veteran actor Mouli is Vellaiya who has a love story about his waiting for his GF to come to him. She was missing after floods ravaged her house. Into this story comes a girl Paaru ( Sharddha). She packs her bag and takes off for work – restoration architect. She instead of starting work on any restoration of  heritage building or art work, starts to restore the gaps in the story of Maara, she discovers through pencil sketches. Now Maara is a gypsy , a roadie and many things to many people. She starts on his trail. Though she comes across him before , she does not accost him. Finally she meets him.

This search of a gypsy by a quirky girl  is the stuff that every romantic at heart would love to watch. It should transport you to a world that is neither magical nor real – bordering on fantasy. Something like a treasure hunt that every adventure freak loves. Here all the qualities that should go with such a genre are missing. Maddy hardly comes across as a gypsy like character and Sharadha, the girl in search of him as somebody who is mad enough to embark on such a journey. The film does not transport you to the world that you wished it existed. Quite bitter that among the talented actors who come in this film as mere props, Abirami finds a place.