Movie: Mathiya Chennai
Produced by: Rajesh .J. Chandan
Directed by: Vivekanand, Veerasingam
Music by: Ilayaraja
Cast and Crew: Jayanth, Ramya, Prakash Raj
Movie Rating: 0/10
Movie Release Date : 27-November- 2009
The name Mathiya Chennai might evoke a sense of revulsion but the movie is not about repulsive gangsters or gang wars. It’s a rather plain story of love and loss that treads the same old path of love, vengeance, guilt and other dramatic emotions.
Except for a few known faces including a cameo by Prakash Raj, the movie largely has debutants in the lead with Jayvanth playing the lead. The story is big enough to be scribbled in a post-it note. The protagonist earns the ire of a gangster after crossing roads with him but merits the love of his daughter. He goes on to make a movie with the help of his daughter but when it was ready for release, the enraged father pulls out all the stops to prevent it from screening.
But in the process, he ends up with blood in his hand. Repenting for his act and seeking peace, he goes back to the slum and starts serving the poor who he earlier treated like slaves. Dramatic indeed.
The movie heaves its way through the total duration with no specific drive in the plot. The screenplay is ridden with loopholes and the strictly so-so performances do nothing to improve the proceedings. Kanja Karuppu’s comedy induces yawn than laughter.
Your surprise of spotting Ilayaraja’s name in the opening credits remains just that, a surprise. Neither the songs nor the background score has any Ilayaraja stamp on it, surprisingly. And if that’s not enough, there’s another surprise in the name of Karthik Raja, he’s the cinematographer of the movie.
In a nutshell, the sorry state of Mathiya Chennai’s screenplay and poor writing is to be blamed for the output.
