Maara
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''Maara'' is a 2021 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
directed by Dhilip Kumar in his directorial debut, and produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa of Pramod Films. An
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
of the 2015
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
blockbuster
movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
'' Charlie'' by
Martin Prakkat Martin Prakkat is an Indian writer, director and film producer who works in the Malayalam film industry. Career Martin started his career as a celebrity photographer and worked with Vanitha Magazine for 10 years. In 2010, Martin directed ''B ...
, the film stars R. Madhavan,
Shraddha Srinath Shraddha Srinath (born 29 September 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is a recipient of two Filmfare Awards South and a SIIMA Award. Shraddha made her debut with the Malayalam film ...
, Abhirami, and
Sshivada Sshivada, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is a recipient of two South Indian International Movie Awards. Personal life Sshivada was born in a Malayali family, at Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu and ...
. Pramod Films acquired the remake rights in early 2016, after which it underwent a series of casting and screenplay changes for two years. In June 2018, Dhilip Kumar was announced to direct the film, after Martin Prakkat (the director of the original film), and A. L. Vijay, opted out of the project. Filming commenced in June 2018, with sporadic schedules at
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
and
Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...
, before the shooting wrapped up in late 2020. The film's music is composed by
Ghibran Ghibran Vaibodha (born 12 August 1980) formerly known as Mohammed Ghibran, is an Indian composer. He has composed music for Indian films, advertising films and television commercial jingles in different languages. Early life M. Ghibran was b ...
, with cinematography and editing handled by Dinesh B. Krishnan, Karthik Muthukumar, and Bhuvan Srinivasan, respectively. The film was scheduled for a direct release through
over-the-top media service An over-the-top media service (also known as over-the-top television, or simply OTT) is a digital distribution service of video and audio delivered Direct-to-consumer, directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an Terrestria ...
s after theatrical release plans failed to happen due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...
.
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
, which acquired the streaming rights of the film, premiered it on 8 January 2021.


Plot

Parvathy (
Shraddha Srinath Shraddha Srinath (born 29 September 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is a recipient of two Filmfare Awards South and a SIIMA Award. Shraddha made her debut with the Malayalam film ...
) a.k.a Paaru, is a restoration architect who comes to a small coastal village in Kerala for a project, while avoiding a marriage set-up back home. She finds a fairy-tale she had heard long ago as a child painted across the village. With the help of her friend, she ends up renting a house, filled messily with art and artefacts. She learns that it belongs to an artist named Maara ( R. Madhavan) who is responsible for the paintings across the village. Maara is a free spirit and traveller who is often away visiting various places and returning as he pleases. When she starts cleaning up the place, she finds Maara's photo and a sketchbook. The sketches depict the previous New Year's Eve when a small-time thief ( Alexander Babu) tried to rob Maara. In a turn-of-events, Maara joins the thief, and they both go on the rooftop of a home with a plan to rob the place. There, they see a woman about to shoot herself. The sketchbook ends there, and the story is left unfinished, which piques Paaru's curiosity about the rest of the story, and Maara as a person. Intrigued, Paaru starts finding the people in Maara's sketches. Backtracking his steps, she meets an antique dealer, Usman bhai, a "pirate", Chokku and learns about Selvi ( Abhirami), a prostitute that Maara had known. Maara and Chokku had taken Selvi out to sea for her birthday where after having an evening that alleviated her sorrows, Selvi committed suicide. Maara then ensures that her daughter, Rani is enrolled into a school. When Paaru gets news that Rani has gone missing from her school, she traces her back to her father's lodge. Meanwhile, Maara, who has returned to the village, tracks Rani down to the lodge and rescues her from her abuser. Paaru gets a glimpse of Maara but just misses an encounter with him. One day, she meets the thief depicted in the sketches and enquires about that day's events. He informs her that Maara stopped the woman from shooting herself, and followed her when she started to run away from him. They find the house and finally identify the woman as Doctor Kani (
Sshivada Sshivada, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is a recipient of two South Indian International Movie Awards. Personal life Sshivada was born in a Malayali family, at Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu and ...
). Paaru then tracks her to a mountain village and enquires about her story. Kani explains that when she performed her first independent operation as a paediatrician, a surgical error led to the death of a 10-year-old girl. Further slandered by the media, she was desperate and about to commit suicide on New Year's Eve when she was by chance, stopped by Maara. Maara then brings her to his mountain village, maintained by Vellaiya ( Moulee), his foster father, and she has since been living there. Vellaiya, a retired postmaster and a hopeless romantic, has been searching for his teenage love Meenakshi for nearly fifty years. Vellaiya constantly tells the story of acting out a play to convey his love to Meenakshi, and eventually losing her when a storm flooded his home village. When Vellaiya shows Paaru a photo of Meenakshi, she notices that she has on the same pendant of a conch as her aunt, Mary, who is a nurse at a convent. She brings her Aunt Mary to the village on Vellaiya's birthday, realising that the plot of his play is the fairy-tale she had heard as a child from Aunt Mary - a story of an immortal soldier who spends years looking for his beloved mystical fish. An emotional Velliya, who has spent all his adult life travelling from place to place in search of Meenakshi, thanks Paaru for fulfilling Velliya's wish. Paaru, who has chased one story after another in an attempt to find Maara, finally meets him in person. They introduce themselves and hold hands as they watch the sun set.


Cast


Production


Pre-production

Producers Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa of Pramod Films acquired the Tamil remake rights of the Malayalam film '' Charlie'' (2015) by
Martin Prakkat Martin Prakkat is an Indian writer, director and film producer who works in the Malayalam film industry. Career Martin started his career as a celebrity photographer and worked with Vanitha Magazine for 10 years. In 2010, Martin directed ''B ...
, in February 2016. The producers were initially keen to retain
Parvathy Thiruvothu Parvathy Thiruvothu Kottuvatta (born 7 April 1988), known mononymously as Parvathy, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Kerala S ...
from the original version, and considered either
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi Kalimuthu (born 16 January 1978) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Sethupathi is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Awards, National F ...
,
Sivakarthikeyan Sivakarthikeyan Doss (born 17 February 1985), also known by the initialism SK, is an Indian actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. In 2021, he won the Kalaimamani Awar ...
or Siddharth to play the titular role. In April 2016, R. Madhavan was signed on to play the lead role, while Prakkat agreed to also direct the Tamil version of the film. The director later opted out and A. L. Vijay was signed in June 2016 to helm the project, and agreed in principle to take up the project after the completion of his commitments on ''
Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...
'' (2016) and ''
Vanamagan ''Vanamagan'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film written and directed by A. L. Vijay. The film stars Ravi Mohan and Sayyeshaa, with Prakash Raj, Thambi Ramaiah, and Varun in supporting roles. The music was composed by Ha ...
'' (2017). In January 2017, actress
Sai Pallavi Sai Pallavi Senthamarai Kannan (; born 9 May 1992) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films. Recognised as one of the finest actors in South Indian cinema, known for her portrayals of strong and challeng ...
signed on to play the leading female role, with the makers announcing that production would soon begin in
Ooty Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), Anglicisation, anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north ...
and
Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...
. Following several months of inactivity, director Vijay confirmed in June 2017, that he would be prioritising other projects and the adaptation of the film was indefinitely postponed. He opted to instead work on the bilingual drama ''
Karu Karu may refer to: ; Places * Karu, Estonia * Karu LGA, Nigeria ** Karu Urban Area * Karu Nadu, South West India * Karu, Ladakh, North India ; Languages * Karu language ; People * Erkki Karu Erkki Karu (born Erland Fredrik Kumlander) (10 Apr ...
'' (2018) with the dates he had for Sai Pallavi, and completed an alternate project for Pramod Films, the dance film ''
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
'' (2018).


Development

In June 2018, Pramod Films announced that they would make the film under the title of ''Maara'' with director Dhilip Kumar (of ''
Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...
'' fame) signed on to replace Vijay. Dhilip confirmed that the makers were keen to retain Madhavan for the film despite the change of crew, believing that only the actor had the "innate charm" meant for the character of the lead protagonist. Dhilip stated that the makers were initially apprehensive about casting
Shraddha Srinath Shraddha Srinath (born 29 September 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is a recipient of two Filmfare Awards South and a SIIMA Award. Shraddha made her debut with the Malayalam film ...
as the lead actress, as she had already been paired with Madhavan in ''
Vikram Vedha ''Vikram Vedha'' is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Pushkar–Gayathri and produced by YNOT Studios. The film, which is inspired by the Indian folktale ''Baital Pachisi'', stars R. Madhava ...
'' (2017), but finalised her because ''Maara'' was in a different genre. The director also suggested that he felt both Madhavan and Shraddha shared the real-life characteristics of their on-screen roles.
Ghibran Ghibran Vaibodha (born 12 August 1980) formerly known as Mohammed Ghibran, is an Indian composer. He has composed music for Indian films, advertising films and television commercial jingles in different languages. Early life M. Ghibran was b ...
was signed as the film's music composer, and cinematographers Dinesh Krishnan and Karthik Muthukumar, editor Bhuvan Srinivasan, Malayali art director Ajayan Challisery was also picked to join the crew.


Filming

The actors completed a week-long rehearsal before the start of shoot, with production beginning in Pondicherry on 18 June 2018. The film was subsequently put on hold and Madhavan later became busy with the production of his first directorial venture, '' Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'' (2020), meaning that there was a schedule break of over a year. In October 2019, production restarted in Kochi with child actor
Minon Minon John (born 12 February 2000) is an Indian actor and artist, from Kerala, who works in Malayalam films. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist in 2012 for the Malayalam film '' 101 Chodyangal''. It was directed by Sidhartha ...
and comedian Alexander Babu joining the cast. In June 2020, the film's production house Pramod Films, stated that 50% of the film's shooting was completed in March 2020, prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India On the evening of 24 March 2020, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21days, limiting the movement of the entire 1.38billion (138 crores) population of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. ...
. The makers subsequently planned to wrap the pending portions in a single stretch, adhering to the safety guidelines imposed by the government, to curb the COVID-19 spread. The film entered post-production in June 2020.


Music

The film's music and background score were composed by
Ghibran Ghibran Vaibodha (born 12 August 1980) formerly known as Mohammed Ghibran, is an Indian composer. He has composed music for Indian films, advertising films and television commercial jingles in different languages. Early life M. Ghibran was b ...
, with lyrics written by
Thamarai Thamarai (born 10 November 1975) is an Indian poet and lyricist who writes in Tamil. She is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world and has worked in Tamil cinema. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry through the 1998 film '' In ...
. On 28 October 2020,
Think Music India Think Music is an Indian music label headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu that specialises in South Indian film soundtracks. Overview Think Music India was started in 2007 and sold its first 46 titles including ''Vel'' (2007) and ''Paiyaa ...
released the lyrical video of the first single "Yaar Azhaippadhu", sung by
Sid Sriram Sidharth Sriram (born 19 May 1990) is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer. He is an R&B songwriter and has been working in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and English music industry. He regul ...
. The second single "Oru Arai Unathu", sung by
Yazin Nizar Yazin Nizar, also known as Yasin (born February 9, 1990), is an Indian playback singer who works in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi language films. Nizar sang the Tamil and Malayalam versions of the Oscar-winning song '' Naatu N ...
and Sanah Moidutty was released on 20 November 2020. The third single "Oh Azhage" sung by
Benny Dayal Benny Dayal (born 13 May 1984) is a UAE-born Indian playback singer. He is a prominent singer in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi and more languages films. He is a member of the band S5, launched by ...
, was released on 4 December 2020. The full album was released on 1 January 2021.


Release

The film was scheduled to release directly through
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
, skipping theatrical release, as a result of theatres being shut down due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...
. On 9 October 2020, Amazon Prime announced the release date of 9 original films, which included ''Maara'' scheduled for a release on 17 December 2020. However, a new release date of 8 January 2021 was announced later.


Reception

The film opened with mixed-to-positive response from critics. The general audience, however, have given it a more favourable rating. M. Suganth, editor-in-chief of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' gave 3 out of 5 stars stating "The additional focus on this track results in an increased running time, and also takes the spotlight away from the Paru-Maara romance, leading to an ending that doesn’t leave you on a high that the initial moments promised." Logesh Balachandran, writing for ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'', gave 3 out of 5 and stated "Though it's difficult to recreate the magic of the original film '' Charlie'', Dhilip has managed to retain its essence and delivered a film that leaves a lasting impact." Film critic Shubham Kulkarni, writing for the website ''Koimoi'', gave 3 out of 5 stating "Maara is not for the ones who cannot have a bit suspension of disbelief. But if you have an imagination that can travel far, go for it. There are flaws and a lot of them, but there is a lot of hope too, let’s see at the greener side this time." S. Srivatsan of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' stated "From an aesthetic point of view, ‘Maara’ directed by Dhilip Kumar is beautifully-shot and works somewhat better than the Malayalam film ‘Charlie’, although its rigidity comes close to spoiling the otherwise pleasant and charming film." ''Behindwoods'' gave the film a rating of 2.75 out of 5 stating, "Maara is a feel-good emotional drama that is painted with a beautiful story." Film critic Haricharan Pudipeddi, writing for ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' stated "Maara isn’t a frame-by-frame copy, but it retains the magic of Charlie." Shubhra Gupta, editor-in-chief for ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'', gave 3 out of 5 stating, "Madhavan is appropriately loose-limbed and dishy as he ambles through the film, spreading grizzled, warm charm." Sudhir Srinivasan, gave 3 out of 5 stars for the film, in his review for ''
Cinema Express ''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Mal ...
'', stating "This film that contains within it several smaller stories, like it were a book of fairytales, is an appeal to recognise the magicality of our world and its people." Ranjani Krishnakumar, writing for ''
Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
'', gave 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "If you aren’t instinctively drawn to the mystical world that Maara and Paru occupy, or even find it desirable, the film is a drag. If you’re a hopeless, dreamy romantic at heart, you might find your longing fulfilled."
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan () is an Indian film critic and writer. A chemical engineering graduate with no formal training in filmmaking or cinema writing, he has a diverse career in advertising, IT consulting, and cinema writing. He has authored two boo ...
of ''
Film Companion Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Compani ...
'' stated "The beauty of this fable, based on Charlie, is how much of a love story it is, and yet how it’s not really the love story of the “hero” and the “heroine”." Gautaman Baskaran of ''
News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, ( d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief ...
'' gave 3 out of 5 and stated "A truly charismatic Madhavan and an unforgettable Srinath make Maara a great watch." Sowmya Rajendran of ''
The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Vignesh Vellore who is also the current CEO in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, ...
'', gave 3.5 out of 5 stating "Madhavan as Maara, however, looks jaded, but Shraddha Srinath carries the film through with her charm." Indiaglitz gave the film 2.75 out of 5 stating "A breezy, heartwarming entertainer with good performances."


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, id=tt9319874, title=Maara 2021 romantic drama films 2020s Tamil-language films 2021 films Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic Indian romantic drama films Amazon Prime Video original films Tamil remakes of Malayalam films