The film is Surya’s first for the year. You have to give an applause to director Singapuli for choosing a different storyline. The story telling aspect is out of the blue and away from the cliché. Though the handling of the same could have been better and script must have been more taut to have made Mayavi a run-of-the mill potboiler.
The movie is supposedly a commercial entertainer. It is a rollicking and rambunctious tale of a devil-may-care guide who is also a confience trickster, ‘kiddishly’ kidnapping a top film heroine, who is none other than Jothika. The movie has lots of resemblance/shades of Ram Gopal Verma’s Mast.
Balaya(nicked as Abes Balaya) is the guide/man-thief/prankster/mayavi. He and his ally Sathyaraj (real name – unknown) have no hang ups in life. Ballaya’s problems start when he and his accomplice enter Jothika’s house unknowingly to loot some quick wealth. But when they realize that the house to be robbed, is the female leads’ they decide against it. But the worse happens when they shout in excitement. The actress herself catches them and creates a huge kerfuffle. For their efforts, they are put behind bars.
Jothika is, as always in most Tamil movies, against the hero. Out of all, the two have their run-ins and again Ballaya is jailed. This time on the charge of a rape attempt. So out to take revenge on her, Ballaya kidnaps her. Just about when the whole industry set to trace Jo, she understands the real Ballaya. All of this ends in a tacky and slightly laborious climax.
The saving grace of the movie is a top-notch performance by Surya. Be it the innocent thief or a glib-talking loquacious guide, Surya is pure un-adulterated fun. Jo as Jo is a difficult character to play. It is really difficult to spoof yourself. It is an audacious characterization. The voice modulation for Jo sounds very absurd. But Jo has passed the muster test. The chemistry between the lead pair is as every one feels is great.
Sathyaraj is the perfect foil to Surya and he brings the house down when he compares Jo and Simran. The music of Devi Sri Prasad is more of Telugu-style orchestration, which may sound too heavy for tamil audience.
Director Singapuli has obviously some flair for comedy and mirth. Unlike Bala the producer of this film. Singapuli reaches audience grey cells. His attempt to touch the funny bone has been partly touched with Mayavi. At the outset this movie is a feel-good film for the movie-buffs, but may not touch the heart of normal audience.