Mass, double mass, and triple mass; all said and done, the final scene of ‘Madhura Raja’ is all suggestive – that ‘Minister Raja’ will follow. So much has happened and the next time, I tell an exhausted self – you should probably think of taking down notes.
There are no chances taken yet again in Vysakh’s ‘Madhura Raja’ , and it’s obvious when Raja makes a gala appearance in the film, heading an enormous fleet of boats that head towards the shoreline, making you wonder if in the course of the last few years, the man has been appointed as head of the naval base. Looks like that is not the case, and you are told that Raja is all set to contest for the elections from Madura.
Paambin Thuruthu is where Raja arrives, the reason being that his pet brother Chinnan (Jai) has been beaten black and blue by the local Circle Inspector, and a case – a false one – has been booked against him. Left with no other choice, Raja pays a visit to the islet, and with his cars on the other side of the water, travels to the police station on a cart – with a hundred other carts from god alone knows where, trudging along in attendance.
Writer Udaykrishna meanwhile, has set up the perfect setting, and if you are one who couldn’t guess having seen Narein in the trailer that he is the one honest police man who would be bumped off without a trace, I’m sure the film could hold tons of surprises in store for you. So there is the cop who is torn to bits by some real vicious dogs and there is the cop’s tiny daughter Vasanthi, who is left behind all alone with her tinier sister.
Tiny Vasanthi grows up into the not so tiny resort manager (Anusree), who Raja runs into, and treats with much respect. They even have a prolonged argument on the occupancy of the pier outside Vasanthi’s resort, and with the word pier translating into jetty in Malayalam, the scope of the conversation is palpably enormous.
That done, Raja has plenty of other issues to look into, including the shady business that the local baddie Nadeshan (Jagapathy Babu) has been up to, at his hospital. Apparently a fresh pack of dogs have arrived since that poor old sub inspector’s times, and with Raja’s dear and near ones having to bear the brunt and bite of it, Raja decides it’s payback time, once and for all.
There are a few distractions however, and you only have Nadeshan’s stellar hosting abilities to blame for these. Raja arrives at the man’s distillery for instance, to learn a trick or two on illicit brewing, but little does he anticipate the item dance that follows. Sunny Leone rocks the show and an alert Raja springs away on the sofa, as she makes a dance move or two towards him – its duty first and dance second always, for Raja – a fact that Sunny does not seem to have realized.
There is also a passing reference or two to Surya, and someone remarks that he has turned director, prompting the novelist Manoharan Mangalodayam (Salim Kumar) to cry out ‘Ente Lucifereee’. Raja’s dad Madhavan Nair (Nedumudi Venu) makes a fleeting appearance, whereas Krishnan (Vijayaraghavan) gets lucky, as he discovers his long estranged lover (Vinaya Prasad) on a chance visit to Paambin Thuruthu. Ah! The unpredictability of life.
There are also a few other clueless lasses, played by Shamna Kassim and Mahima Nambiar roaming around, who at best get to awkwardly gawk at scenes where a small male crowd decides what is to be done. Reshma Rajan is a bit luckier in that she grabs a role that at least has a tad more to do than the gaping bit.
How can I forget Peter Hein and the fresh truck loads of dry leaves that he has brought in specially for the climax? Raja gets to deliver it all – kicks, blows and punches – amidst what seems like a hurricane and sends all his assailants into outer space, where they would battle the rest of their lives dealing with all that dust that must have crept up their nostrils.
And there is Mammootty himself, who has fully realized what he has gotten himself into, and gives it his one hundred percent, delivering the goods with an equal if not better flair than he had done in 2010. Flaunting his lion ring and throwing his angavastram casually over his shoulders, he brings in enough and more verve into his essayal of Raja, and drives the crowds into a frenzy.
In case you are wondering where all the analysis is, I have terrible news for you. I had quite a few plans this time, to pay attention to the detailing, to take note of the characterisation and of course, if time allows, dissect the narrative. And then, ‘Madhura Raja’ happened and along with Raja’s discomfited English, it all went for a toss.
Mass, double mass, and triple mass; all said and done, the final scene of ‘Madhura Raja’ is all suggestive – that ‘Minister Raja’ will follow. So much has happened and the next time, I tell an exhausted self – you should probably think of taking down notes.
Verdict: Fan Fluff