Sivakarthikeyan & Vidyut Jammwal's 'Dil Madharasi' movie review: AR Murugadoss finally gets it right, even if in bits

Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Rukmini Vasanth, Vidyut Jammwal, Biju Menon, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Vikranth

Director: A.R. Murugadoss

Language: Tamil

AR Murugadoss made a revenge drama in the form of Ghajini that he made in Tamil and then in Hindi. He then made another revenge drama in the form of Darbar that starred Superstar Rajinikanth. His film 7aum Arivu was something different and unique that didn’t find too many takers, nor did his much ambitious Spyder with Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu. His weakest film was with Salman Khan in the form of Sikandar that came out earlier this year. We now have Dil Madharasi. This Tamil action-drama stars Sivakarthikeyan and Vidyut Jammwal in lead roles.

What is the film about?

Reeling from a breakup, a man with a tragic past becomes involved in an operation to stop the mass distribution of weapons in this Tamil-language drama thriller. If you have seen the trailer, there’s darkness, there are daring scenes, there are daring characters, there are explosions, there are confrontations, and there’s blood. All of this has been the trope and template in many films in Indian cinema, and filmmakers and actors keep coming back to these tropes and templates.  

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Murugadoss as a filmmaker has been largely out of his depth in most of his directorial works, but with Dil Madharasi, he almost gets his groove back. This is because he’s coming from a film that failed both critically and commercially and starred an actor who was only getting it right once upon a time in Bollywood. The best thing about the filmmaker’s new film is how he gets the flavour and essence right. How he gets the milieu right even when the story has nothing new to say.

Something illegal is happening and there’s only one man who can stop that. Then there’s Vidyut Jammwal, whose agility and gifted athleticism are put to good use by Murugadoss who has worked with the actor before. And the leading man Sivakarthikeyan also puts his brooding aura to good use to create an impression of that ‘If you mess with me, I’ll make your life hell’ attitude.

All in all, Dil Madharasi is much more than just watchable purely because it’s coming after a string of disappointments by the filmmaker. Had this come out when he was at his peak, it may have stuck like a sore thumb. As Shah Rukh Khan said in Happy New Year- Timing is everything.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

Dil Madharasi is now playing in cinemas