The summer season begins, as this becomes the hot spot for the big films to grace the screens, garnering maximum attention thanks to the holiday season. The month of April kicks off with its first big release, Maan Karate which boasts of its lead Siva Karthikeyan, who has now become a household name. With ARM penning the story, Maan Karate has the bubbly Hansika and the Little Master Anirudh as its spearheads.
The movie kicks off with a group of friends wandering into a forest, only to come across a saint. Sathish (Edhirneechal fame) asks the saint for a boon, which ironically turns out to be a newspaper on the day of Ayudha Poojai. While going through the paper, they come across some news incidents which are about to take place in the coming days. One of them is about a local dude Peter ( Siva Karthikeyan ) winning the upcoming boxing tournament and dedicating the cash prize off to these friends.
The story of how Sathish and his friends come across Peter, his love interest Yazhini ( Hansika ) and the happenings thereafter is what Maan Karate is all about.
Starting off with the casting, it is Siva Karthikeyan who steps in to be the live wire of the film. Albeit being repetitive with his mannerisms, his comic timing does evoke quick giggles. Such a role is a cakewalk for him, barring the climax where he has put in a few efforts to jump into the shoes of a boxer. Hansika who has ostensibly thinned down, now looks like a dream. Putting up super cute expressions in the songs, she is an asset to the movie. Vamsi Krishna as the villain is apt, and a special mention to the lady playing his wife too. Amidst the group of friends, it is Sathish with his one-liners and Aswathi who impress. Unfortunately, Soori’s cameo in the film is an absolute turn off.
Sukumar’s camera is one of the scoring points in the film, especially in the first ten minutes where every frame is truly breath-taking. His lighting and camera placements in the song sequences and the climax is highly commendable. Editing could have been a touch crispier, as the second half drags around and could crop up with some trimming. Anirudh’s music is peppy with colorful visuals, but the same cannot be said about the BGM which is pretty boilerplate.
Making use of AR.Murugadoss’ story, Thirukumaran could have worked harder on the screenplay to bring out a convincing product. Instead, we are led to a fun first half, which is followed by a highly predictable and cliché ridden second.
Things like the lewd comic scenes and forced song inducements do not work in favor of the film either. Thanks to the reach of its main lead and the heavy buzz, Maan Karate will cross the bar. The later stages, are left at bay.
Verdict : This boxer packs a punch which is half as powerful.