Meiyazhagan review: Karthi-Arvind Swami film reflects on self-discovery

When guns and gore mostly dominate cinema these days, seldom does a film like director Prem Kumar’s Meiyazhagan generate buzz and open to packed houses. Director Prem Kumar’s 96 was a film about unrequited love, his next outing, Meiyazhagan, is a film about a lot of things. There’s a man who gives and gives without any expectation and there’s a man who forces himself not to be on the receiving end. But, when he starts doing that, it leads him to a path of self-discovery.
Arul Mozhi (Arvind Swami) and his family are forced to sell their shares in the family house and relocate to Madras. The family house shapes Mozhi’s life and character. And when he moves to Madras, he undergoes a full transformation. Much into his 40s, he gets an opportunity to go to his village, Needamangalam, to attend his favourite cousin sister’s wedding.
While Mozhi plans to just ‘show his face’ at the reception, he meets his relative, who he can’t recall. However, the relative (Karthi) knows everything about Arul. At first, he hates his company, gives him a wrong number and does everything to let go of him. But, Karthi’s character is not a person you can let go of. Instead, he latches on. The rest of the film is about their bromance and Mozhi’s journey of self-discovery.
Director Prem Kumar is one filmmaker in Tamil cinema who knows how to make sweet nothings look beautiful. While it was Trisha and Vijay Sethupathi’s stealing glances in 96, the moments of silence between Karthi and Arvind Swami in Meiyazhagan.
Mozhi, leaving his family house overnight, affects his core personality. And it takes a character like Karthi to remind him of his smile.
Here’s the trailer:

Karthi’s character starts as his nosy know-it-all relative, who doesn’t know when and how to shut up. But, as time progresses, he becomes the most loveable character, thanks to his charm, wittiness and innocence. Arvind Swami’s Mozhi undergoes a transformation once he begins receiving Karthi’s love. He tells his wife Hema (Devadarshini), “I have no clue how one can live like this, or this is how everyone’s supposed to be.” Karthi plays a character who doesn’t know boundaries. But, it is also he who teaches Mozhi to not hold on to his past.
Meiyazhagan’s first half will keep you hooked to the seats, but it is the second half that meanders. The major conflict in the film is so simple, that it feels tedious after a point in the second half. The two characters talk about Jallikattu, the Sterlite incident and the Sri Lankan Civil War. While these topics truly expose Karthi’s large heart, it also makes you empathise with him as everything affects them. However, they also (sort of) bring down the high that the first half created.
Meiyazhagan has many moments that tug at your heartstrings. Though it gets tedious towards the end, it works mainly because of stellar performances by Karthi and Arvind Swami. Govind Vasantha’s music aptly adds to the mood of the film.
Director Prem Kumar’s Meiyazhagan is a film that allows you to jog your memory and also makes you believe in niceness. A film with such positivity cannot harm a world that’s bogged down by war, isn’t it?