Maan Karate

REVIEW FROM BEHINDWOODS:

After notching up back to back successes as the endearing and funny ‘boy next door’, Siva Karthikeyan is back with Maan Karate in a role which is akin to his previous ones but with more scope for action this time around.

Siva plays Peter, a playful chap with very little worldly exposure and with nothing on his mind except his girlfriend Yazhini. He poses as a boxer to woo her, as she is an ardent fan of sports. But destiny has bigger plans for him and makes him register for a boxing tourney.

Maan Karate combines elements like fantasy and the regular brand of commercial entertainment in true Siva Karthikeyan style. We also have the sporting angle with Siva being the quintessential underdog taking on a mighty champion. The film does provide quite a lot of fun in the first half with Siva Karthikeyan’s typical antics, his mimicry attempts and his rollicking dance moves in the colorfully shot song sequences. The young man looks handsome in neatly fitting, trendy costumes and accessories, and looks the part as a dashing lead hero. The way he has improved his dance moves is unbelievable and there is an evident and effortless grace in his moves now. All the songs are lifted by Siva’s energetic presence. And like a typical mass hero number, we have Siva and the song’s choreographer dancing together to a signature move, in the ‘Royapuram Peter’ track.

Hansika is pretty and cherubic as ever and looks gorgeous in the song and dance sequences. Other than that, she gets to be a loyal, unsuspecting and supporting girlfriend who stands by her guy.

Soori plays a pretty hyper, easily excitable boxing referee and will please his hardcore fans in the limited time he has. The chemistry between Siva and Soori is evident in these scenes and they do bring about a few laughs. Sathish has a few one-liners to make a mark and effortlessly does so.

The other actors such as Vamsi as the domineering boxer and Shaji as Siva’s coach play out their rol...

Maan Karate is nothing but a showcase for Sivakarthikeyan. It is an acknowledgement that the former TV personality is today a bonafide star. And, so, the film comes with all the trappings of a star film — an A-list heroine, a happening music director, no-expenses-spared production budget, introduction song and not to mention, the hype. And, the actor, to his credit manages to carry this film on his shoulders like a pro. He looks slick (even though his character is from Royapuram), makes us laugh with his one-liners and mannerisms, dances very well and even attempts some heavy-duty histrionics.

Which is why it is sad to see his efforts getting wasted in a film that dispenses with any form of logic, and wants us to take it as it is, no questions asked. The story, by director AR Murugadoss, is a mix of fantasy and romance, but Thirukumaran's script is underdeveloped. The film begins with five friends (Sathish and co) meeting a mystic in the forest, who grants their wish — a newspaper from the future! When things start happening as reported in the paper (the IT company in which they work shuts down, hailstones fall in Chennai), they decide that they could use their knowledge of the future to their advantage, and get rich with hardly any effort.

So, they woo Royapuram Peter, a happy-go-lucky (read wastrel) youngster, who is supposed to win a boxing tournament. Their plan is to make Peter take part in the tournament and collect his prize money by making him sign an agreement. Incidentally, Peter falls in love with Yazhini (mainly because she has fair skin, FYI), who loves sports. So, to impress her, he accepts their terms and uses them to pep up his lifestyle. These segments play out in a lighthearted fashion, something that even Ethir Neechal did.

And then the interval twist arrives — there is another Peter, who is taking part in the tournament, who is a feared boxer and is an odds-on favourite (even their father's names are the same!) This seems like an interes...