Plot Summary
Maanaadu Movie starts at an airport, where we see a flight attendant announcing the reason for the delay of a flight takeoff. He declares that the flight is late due to someone being late to arrive. We are then introduced to Abdul Khaliq, played by Simbu. As soon as Simbu arrives, the flight takes off. It is later revealed that Simbu is going to Tamilnadu to attend a wedding. He sits beside Kalyani Priyadarshan, who plays Seethalakshmi. She seems to be afraid of plane journeys, and Simbu notices her praying throughout the flight.
The plane lands, and as Simbu gets up from his seat, a guy drops his bag on an older adult and causes a ruckus. Simbu avoids this and proceeds to the airport. While waiting to pick up his luggage, he notices a wheel coming off of luggage owned by a woman. After taking his luggage, a child rushes past him. Suddenly the glass panel on the airport roof falls close to the child, leaving her injured. Kalyani and Simbu Priyadhrshan talk all the way. Simbu discovers that they are attending the same wedding as they converse.
scenes of Maanaadu
Simbu meets Premji
Premji and Karunakaran meets Simbu outside the airport, who have come to pick him up. The four of them attend the wedding together. We observe a Muslim marriage as they arrive at the wedding. Simbu then gives Kalyani a burqa and instructs her to give it to the bride. He tells her it’s a part of a tradition in Islamic weddings. But some things seem fishy. The bride wears the Burqa and disguises herself. She then goes to the car in which Simbu came in and leaves.
Kalyani realizes that the bride has eloped, and Simbu has executed this plan to unite the bride and Premji. Kalyani quickly alerts the bride’s family, and a chase scene follows. Simbu somehow manages to get away from the bride’s family during the chase. But unfortunately, a guy suddenly jumps in front of the car and gets hit by it. Simbu and his buddies get down the car to check what’s going on. With no delays, cops arrive and take Simbu and his friend’s ID cards. Another cop car comes, and we are introduced to Dhanushkodi, played by SJ Surya.
scenes of Maanaadu
At the Police
He appears to be the Assistant Commissioner of Police. He arrives at the scene and instructs the police officers to take Simbu and his friends under custody with no prior notice. They are then taken to some dark, abandoned place where some police officers work under the radar. The whole operation seems fishy. Following this, SJ Surya forces Simbu to go to a meeting held by the Chief Minister. He is handed a bag as well as a hands-free device. Cops order Simbu to what they say. He enters the meeting. SJ Surya tells Simbu to open the bag. To his shock, he finds a gun in there. SJ Surya then forces and compels Simbu to shoot the Chief Minister upon which Simbu does so and the police officers around him then shoot him.
He suddenly wakes up and is back on the flight where he arrived at the wedding. Simbu believes it was all a dream, but everything continues as before. The bag falls over a woman, the Luggage wheel breaks, the glass panel falls, and he even has the same conversation with Kalyani. That’s when Simbu realizes that things are happening in a loop and that he is stuck. The story proceeds by showing the audience how Simbu finds out the reason behind it and how he stops SJ Surya from committing a deadly crime.
scenes of Maanaadu
The Time Loop
Venkat Prabhu, the director of Maanaadu, has executed the time loop concept perfectly. He has clearly understood his target audiences’ mindset and has delivered a gripping screenplay according to it. He successfully delivers it without spurring confusion in the viewers’ minds. This is not a simple process because it needs a significant amount of time and accuracy. Venkat Prabhu has carefully and precisely chosen to show what and what not to the audience, as repetition might make the Maanaadu boring.
The Screenplay
Time Loop movies are not easy to make as they require a high attention span and research to be done. Maanaadu goes at a very fast pace and in a gripping way. The audience does not flinch as every moment seems essential and engaging to watch. This is a sign of a very successful movie. Songs are not placed unnecessarily, which would have been a party blooper if done so.
scenes of Maanaadu
The Cast Performance
One of the best things about Maanaadu is the cast performance. Simbu has done a brilliant job and is a comeback movie for him. SJ Surya is very energetic and tirelessly performs as the villain and scores equal to Simbu in this film. Kalyani Priyadarshan should be mentioned as she does not overreact or overdo things as she is not supposed to. Kalyani only comes in parts where the story requires her. Hats off to Venkat Prabhu for not making the cast appear in unnecessary moments, as it would’ve ruined Maanaadu entirely.
Other Pros and Cons
Pros: The Editing and the music composition must be appreciated as it elevates the movie to a whole new level. Editing a Time Loop movie is not easy as it requires a lot of patience and accuracy. Humor in Maanaadu works out very well as they boost up the viewers when things seem to go down a bit.
cast of Maanaadu
Cons: We see certain scenes where the movie was shot before Simbu reduced his weight. In those scenes, the Maanaadu team has used VFX to reduce Simbu’s weight. It is highly noticeable. It would’ve been better if it was left the way he was.
Overall Verdict (4/5 Stars)
Maanaadu is a very entertaining and gripping movie that can be watched for its Action, Humor, and the overall concept
