There is so much joy in catching a film on a Pongal morning. I woke up, all dressed, and when I wore the mask-which is more like a normal now-things began to hit me hard. The new normal is not something we all had wanted and now going for a film at this time did seem unreal, but I tell you what, Master is a kind of a film I would rather enjoy watching in theatres. Especially for the cinematography, for the music and BGM and of course, for the lead characters and their performance.
READ: Master Review in Tamil
At theatres, one might expect the roaring response for Vijay but the theatre equally erupted for Vijay Sethupathi. It was so good to see that both the actors had equal screen presence.
During the audio launch that happened in March 2020, Vijay Sethupathi said the following–
“Indha padathula naan dhaan hero… If I am Vijay’s villain, then he is my villain, and so, I am the hero!! Master is a double-hero subject.”
This film is exactly what it is. Both the characters have equal importance and they certainly did pull off with ease. We end up empathizing both the characters in the end. Vijay Sethupathi as Bhavani is a ruthless monster and director Lokesh did an excellent job in developing the character by showing us how and why Bhavani became the man he is now.
At some points, Vijay’s performance as JD aka Vaathi reminded me of his performance in Kavalan. It was subtle, but again, the film did have those Vijay moments. Something you usually see in his commercial drama, it was more refreshing. One would certainly enjoy the Gilli Kabadi BGM and Anirudh just keeps getting better when it comes to connecting with the audience. The songs which are already chartbusters only gets better on screens and we get to see Vijay groove, something that has always been his USP and is as always special.
Talking more about the film, Vijay Sethupathi’s Bhavani gets introduced first. He is a youngster who is sent to observation home by the men who had killed his family. One thing leads to another, and he turns into this ruthless monster, someone who gets what he always wants. The film’s writing is pretty neat here.
Vijay as JD is a professor who is alcoholic. He is being adored by his students. Circumstances lead JD to go to a juvenile observation home to teach them and transform them. What he finds there, the problems he faces there and how he solves them all forms the crux of the story.
The film does have a lot of fight scenes (a few do make Vijay look like larger than life character), a few of them didn’t impact me while a few were brilliant. There were moments that did hit me hard, but a few did fall flat and was predictable. I did feel the second half was a bit lengthy and wasn’t as engaging as the first half. In the end, it did work out as a film for me. I did feel like the film is more of Vijay’s rather than Lokesh’s. However, it is super enjoyable and a lot of credits must go to the cinematography, music.
Apart from the main characters, we do see a lot of stars but their impact in the story is a bit less. Everyone’s role felt more like a cameo and had a less to offer. I did expect a lot from the female characters in the film, but it is a bit of disappointment for me. Having said that, Arjun Das once again stands out among all the other actors. I do love to see him in more upcoming films. He is such a show-stealer.
On the whole, the film is probably lesser than what I had expected but certainly not to the level where I can call it bad. Master is solid, super enjoyable and is such a good film to watch in theatre after a real long time. The best part of the film is the equal weightage for both Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi who has pulled it off with ease.
Now, keep aside all your expectations, go watch this good vs bad film which has a different flavour(thanks to director Lokesh) to the normal predictable ones.
