Cast: Arya, Mahima Nambiar, Induja, Illavarasan, Aruldoss and Kaali Venkat

Directed By: Santhakumar

Magamuni, directed by Santha Kumar, is one of the most complex thrillers to come out of Tamil cinema and a film that almost entirely justifies its lengthy runtime. Telling a compelling story of crime, political intrigue, caste violence, and religion, the film also manages to flirt with philosophy without making it boring at any point.

The film tells the tale of two people – Maga and Muni and both the roles are played by Arya. Maga is a hitman and he specializes in plotting plans to gangsters to kill people. Muni, on the other hand, is a pious school teacher who is practicing Brahmacharya.

The film travels back and forth between two characters, Maga (Arya), a cab driver in Chennai and a dirty job specialist for a politician, and fixer Muthuraj (Ilavarasu). Muni (Arya) is a good Samaritan and an organic farmer who believes in Vivekananda Swami's teachings and thinks the world of Tamil literature and lives in a village near Erode. It is made clear that Maga is an atheist while Muni practices yoga, and spreads the word of Hinduism.

Maga thinks the world of his wife Viji (Induja) and his five-year-old son. He is also trying to turn a new leaf and leave the world of crime. Muni is happy living with his loving mother (Rohini) and wants to be a ‘Nitya Brahmachari’, and at the same time impart knowledge to students. Deepa (Mahima Nambiar) is a journalism student, and daughter of local landlord Jeyaraman (Jayaprakash), who is in awe of the soft-spoken Muni.

Santhakumar’s writing is his strength and you can’t ask for a better comeback. Magamuni deals with karma and redemption, but unlike how these themes are usually dealt in mainstream Tamil cinema, Santhakumar handles it all with sensibility. As a viewer, it takes time to warm up to Magamuni, which tests one’s patience in many places. Nevertheless, it’s not a film that gets boring, and Arya as Maga holds your attention with one of his better performances.

Magamuni will go down as one of the best works of Arya but the film belongs to Santhakumar, his ideologies, and writing. It’s amazing how he brings in a very interesting allegory on spiritualism and karma in a simple tale of revenge. We need this actor to do more films like this at least in amidst of all the mediocre he will do in there.

The plot is always one step ahead of the audience, making the reveals truly impactful. Arya is understated in his performance, doing just what is necessary. He switches between subdued earnestness and the cunning of a thug effortlessly. The supporting actors are brilliant, especially Ilavarasu and Jayaprakash. In one scene, Jayaprakash opens the door with a sickle in his hand, looking thoroughly casual, but you can feel your heart pounding. Thaman’s background score builds the suspense remarkably well all through.

Magamuni is a film which proves that karma is a boomerang and you have to deal with it.