What BJP failed to spot in Mersal - actor Vijay's possible political debut in Tamil Nadu
After reading innumerable reviews of Vijay-starrer Mersal, I finally got to watch the movie in a theatre amid a cheering audience. I was more keen to watch the scenes critiquing the GST and Digital India - something that earned the movie a barrage of brickbats even before its release. I was also eager to see how the audience would react to those scenes.
Frankly speaking, the movie would not have grabbed as much attention as it did if not for the furore kicked up by BJP leaders Tamilisai Soundararajan and H Raja.
Mersal is a typical Vijay movie directed by Atlee. It is an action drama that explores the rise of unethical medical practices.
The film opens with Vijay doing push-ups with an MGR song playing in the background. Then follows the star's characteristic Vanakkam with his hands cuffed even as crowds cry out for him in what appears to be an ideal reflection of his political ambitions in real life. The audience in the hall broke into loud applause which, of course, didn't surprise me.
Vijay plays three different roles in Mersal. The first half is a sequence of events showing Dr Maran (one of the characters played by Vijay), who is called a "five-rupee doctor" - as he charges Rs 5 only for treating each patient.
A mix of visually rich fun moments, romance and action fill up his scenes shot in Paris.
The filmmaker though seems to have followed WhatsApp forwards keenly. Sample this: actor Vadivelu shows his empty wallet to robbers in Paris, saying he doesn’t have money because he comes from Digital India.
An average movie-goer probably wouldn't have taken a serious note of the sarcasm, but for the controversy. Even before the scene started, the audience broke into laughter, thanks to the BJP again.
Except for a small twist, Mersal, I feel, lacks the requisite nuance and depth. It's like a masala sambar - a mix of Kamal Haasan’s Apoorva Sahodarigal, Vijayakanth Ramana and Shankar’s movies, Mudhalvan, Sivaji and Anniyan.
It certainly looks like Atlee is capable of reproducing old movies with a fresh flavour, just like he did with his first movie, Raja Rani.
Nevertheless, more visual treat greets Mersal audience when Vijay is seen playing a magician's (Vetri) role.
But it is a flashback sequence which grips the audience the most, almost an entire half of the movie.
While MK Stalin is popularly called Thalapathi, meaning commander, in Tamil Nadu, with Mersal, Vijay's fans promoted him from Ilayathalapathy (junior commander) to Thalapathi, or a full-fledged commander.
Also, it's not difficult to see Vijay emulating MGR and his gait on the huge screen.
The scene mirrors what many political leaders and actors want to do in real life in Tamil Nadu.
The audience couldn't cheer more as Vijay takes potshots at state politicians for giving free TV sets, grinders and cash to woo voters.
As Thalapathi, he is revered as the leader and god of his village. Communal statements made by BJP leader H Raja against the actor just seem illogical. Interestingly, Thalapathi in Mersal, with pattai (holy ash) smeared on his forehead, drops his decision to build a temple on his land after a tragedy. Instead, he goes on to build a hospital housing a small shrine.
I wonder what was communal about this sequence that made H Raja cry foul. The movie mostly deals with medical scams and exploitation of patients by big private hospitals due to lack of facilities in the government healthcare system.
Vijay delivers a lengthy dialogue about the infamous apathy of medical fraternity. In one instance, Vetri (Vijay) regrets that India is not able to provide free healthcare despite a 28 per cent GST while Singapore is able to do so with just 7 per cent GST.
In another scene, Vetri speaking angrily about "zero per cent GST" on liquor. Now it is this dialogue that has upset the BJP, which has pointed out the factual error in film since alcohol is taxed by the state government. Again, I wouldn’t have noticed it had there been no outcry over the scene.
In the theatre, I also noticed how the scenes leaked before Mersal's release drew more cheers from the audience. I overheard a boy sitting next to me telling his friend "this is the scene against the government which I watched online".
With a smattering of current political masala, this out-and-out commercial movie seemed more of a prelude to Vijay's possible political debut.
And I am not surprised why others in the movie, including Sathyaraj and Vadivelu, were not given enough screen space. SJ Suryah, mercifully, did get some minutes to show his acting skills as the antagonist in Mersal. While Samantha and Kajal Agarwal have blink-and-miss roles, Nitya Menen is the only heroine who gets an opportunity to perform.
KV Vijayendra Prasad, who is known for blockbuster Baahubali, along with S Ramana Girivasan and Atlee, has written the screenplay. So there are some Baahubali moments in Mersal - a scene showing Vijay single-handedly dragging down a giant wheel.
On his part, AR Rahman, though fails to make a big impact, but for one song.
As I was leaving the theatre, I overheard a middle-aged man telling his daughter in Tamil: “Rombadhan scene pottanga (they overdid things). When the daughter asked who, pat came the reply: “The BJP.”
Mersal is a pure entertainer aimed at giving Vijay a possible political launch pad. I wonder if the BJP has already laid the red carpet for a potential competitor.