The songs are plain indulgences (the Thriller-like Poochandi is visually interesting but brings the story to a halt) and the pacing dips a little during the second half despite some nifty editing (KL Praveen), and even the director acknowledges this by making Jet Li remark that Mass has slowed down. It also helps that Vikram is played by Parthepan who brings his own quirks to the role - in one scene, he romves the shades of a character who he is arresting and remarks in typical Parthepan-speak, “Enna kalutunanu yaarum ketrakoodadhu illa?’ The villains are quite generic but Venkat makes up for it with the character of Vikram, a cop, who is neither good nor bad. In contrast, the director gives us the backstory of Mass and his relationship with Jet Li in a matter of minutes without resorting to melodrama. And the backstory for Sakthi is also clichéd and takes too much screen time. But things turn somewhat melodramatic during the moment in which Mass finally learns who Sakthi is (though the revelation is a genuine surprise).
For example, the scene in which Mass learns of one of the ghost’s cause of death and the moving song during which he satisfies the last wishes of some of the ghosts. There are moments when the sentimental bit works very well.
What makes MEM different from previous Venkat Prabhu films is that the second half becomes a bit sentimental and that is both good and bad. What happens when Mass realizes this and who is Sakthi? Playing on his greed, Sakthi soon starts using Mass for his own needs. But then he encounters a new ghost, Sakthi, who is his look-alike. He strikes a deal with this bunch of ghosts - they want him to fulfill their last wishes and he wants them to help him use this ‘gift’ and make money. Mass is admitted in a hospital and when he wakes up, he learns that he can see and talk to ghosts. The plot kicks in when Mass and his friend, Jet Li steal from a local gangster to help Manini, but are involved in an accident while trying to escape the gangster’s henchmen. And even as we get the mandatory hero introduction song, the director uses it to introduce the heroine, Manini, as well and in swift strokes shows us that Mass has fallen in love with her. He fights them off and then we are told that the entire thing was staged. It feels like a typical hero’s introduction scene with Mass taking on a few hoodlums who are stealing from a TASMAC shop on Gandhi Jayanthi. Venkat Prabhu makes his intentions quite clear right at the start when he introduces his hero, Mass. MEM shows that the director’s flair for delivering an unpretentious and undemanding film is still intact, even if a slight amount of predictability has crept into the filmmaking.
The fun lies in finding out how the director packages all these elements to surprise and entertain us. So, when we step into a Venkat Prabhu film, by now, we sort-of know what to expect. Some of these might come across as forced but there is no denying that they have become the director’s signature. And most importantly, there will be a subtle subversion of genre - Massu Engira Maasilamani (MEM) has ghosts but it is not a horror film but rather a revenge saga in the traditional ‘mass’ film mould. The focus will be more on entertaining even if means sacrificing some of the seriousness in a scene. The heroines will be strictly functional (Nayanthara’s role here is more a cameo).
#MASSU ENGIRA MASILAMANI SONGS MOVIE#
There will be endless pop culture references (this one invokes Engaeyum Eppothum, Mankatha, 7aum Arivu, Kaththi, Singam 2, Pammal K Sammandham, Pizza, Vaaranam Aayiram, Naan Kadavul, Raja Rani, actor Vishal’s fight against movie piracy, the catchphrase Ennamma Ippadi Pannreengalema and many more). There will be cameos by the Venkat Prabhu company of actors (here, we get Jai, Vijay Vasanth, Aravind Akash, Subbu Panchu to name a few). For starters, his brother Premgi Amaren will be the film’s designated comedian. As his previous five films have shown us, a Venkat Prabhu film cannot exist without certain must-haves.
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