English translation: Metropolis
Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Story: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Cast: Shri, Sundeep Kishan, Regina Cassandra, Charle
Music: Javed Riaz
Time: 137 minutes
Bottom-line: Easily the most exhilarating Indian film in a long
time
When
Maanagaram first hit the screens,
everyone who saw the film was raving about it. A new director, with a new cast,
pulls off one of the most thrilling films of the decade, the best part being
that it all happens here in Chennai, where I live. This is the story of four
unnamed characters (hence I will refer to them using the actors’ names) in
Chennai, whose lives change over a period of 48 hours, in a tale full of
coincidences and mistaken identities.
A
young man from Trichy (Shri) comes to Chennai in search of a job at an IT
company. His boss (Cassandra) hires him, and asks him to bring his original
certificates the next day. Another man (Kishan), who loves Regina, decides to
apply to the same company just to be with her. Meanwhile, a third guy (Charle)
takes on a job as a taxi driver for the same IT company. He rents a taxi from
PKP – a notorious gangster in the area. Their tales clash when a gang of
ruffians beat up Shri instead of Kishan, steal his certificates, and drop them in
Charle’s car. The same ruffians also hatch a plan to kidnap a boy, but they end
up with the wrong child: PKP’s son. With Shri on the hunt for his documents,
the ruffians desperate to escape from PKP, and Kishan trying to make Regina
fall for him, how each of their lives change over the next night is what Maanagaram is about.
 |
| Shri and Cassandra |
The
first thing that intrigued me about the film is the hyperlink narrative
structure used, a device also employed in films like Neram, 21 Grams and Babel.
The difference is that instead of creating one or two common points for the
various tracks to intersect, in Maanagaram,
the tales intersect again and again, at different instances. At one point, you
think there are too many
coincidences, but heck, it’s called a coincidence
for a reason, isn’t it? What’s ingenious is the way the story is so masterfully
written that all the links between the tracks – and the plot twists – are solid:
no incident seems unrealistic, and the timing of the twists is impeccable – and
of course, the way they are shown on screen: just when you know something is
going to happen, the track shifts to another one, leaving you in suspense. The near
real-time experience makes it more interesting.
 |
| Charle |
Maanagaram portrays
the darker side of the Chennai metropolis, starting from the simple, innocent person
coming to Chennai in search of employment, to the underworld. The conversation
between Shri and Charle is a memorable moment in the film, when the former
questions why the city is so great. Shri complains that no one even wants to bat an
eye when a human is beat up in the middle of the road, and everyone wants their
bit of satisfaction, even it is at the cost of others’ suffering, to which
Charle replies that no matter how much we drone on about the negative aspects
of the city, we never want to leave Chennai either (applause from Chennaites!!).
The fact that none of the main characters have names – and the fact that most
of the acting crew is new – could imply that these incidents can happen to
anyone in the city, and indeed, everyday there are people in search of
employment, innocent people getting beat up, people in search of love and what not. The only thing that is exaggerated
is probably the violence – every five minutes there is someone getting beaten
up, and while that certainly adds masala to the plot, it doesn’t seem
realistic.
 |
| Kishan |
Shri
has done extremely well in the lead role; I was amazed by the way he portrayed
innocence through his character. The others have done decently well too. The technical
aspects were a delight: from the stylish opening sequence, to the funky,
electric background score, to the cinematography – again, maybe a tad too
violent for a Tamil film – everything was superb. Of course, I liked the way
humour was also incorporated into the plot. The climax ties almost all the loose ends up, and
considering that there were so many plot twists, giving such a clean climax is
a commendable achievement. Maanagaram is
a must watch, and even more so for the locals.
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