MPME - When Compromises ruin a fairly good plot
A film's commercial success depends not only on a good story or a good intention but a well presented screenplay. Viewers, more often than not even forgive poor production values if the screenplay is engaging enough. Rahesh's 'Marainthirunthu Paarkum Marmam Enna' suffers due to a fairly good plot marred by unnecessary commercial compromises and inappropriate presentation.
'MPME' opens with an interesting sequence of a gang headed by Mime Gopi and Rams planning and executing chain snatches on several women injuring some and killing a few. In one such operation a masked intruder robs the loot from the criminals and they start hunting for him and finally catch him. The masked man is Dhruva who joins the gang and becomes one of their trusted snatches until a twist in the climax. There is also Aishwarya Dutta of 'Bigg Boss 2' fame who is undergoing training as a cop who recognizes Dhruva from her past. The new super cop in town J.D. Chakravarthy is bent on wiping out the chain gang and the rest of the screenplay is all about whether he succeeds and who the mysterious Dhruva really is and what his true intentions are.
Newcomer Dhruva has good physique and also emotes fairly well, especially in the flashback scenes as a gas delivery man. He also passes muster in the action scenes. Aishwarya Dutta in a poorly written role is not going to help the film and vice versa. The other heroine who appears in the flash back fares better. Saranya Ponvannan as the doting mother seems to have put herself on auto pilot mode repeating her 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' character. Mime Gopi, Rams, Valavan and others are aptly cast as the ruthless chain snatchers while J.D. Chakravarthy is given too much build up while he has nothing much to do in the screenplay.
The chain snatching sequences, the detailing of how the gold chains are hidden and then converted to other forms and the expose of the store owners making huge profits buying back the stolen golds are filmed authentically and are the interesting portions in the screenplay. The dialogues also call for attention like stating the fact that the thief was born first and the cop only came later and will always remain in the second place. The stunt director deserves a pat on his back for the brilliant choreography of the chain snatching and the killings of the women.
The downside is when the director well aware that he does not have a star as his lead should have opted for a raw style of storytelling which would have helped in engaging the audiences. Instead the hero gets build up shots and music and the same for the cop which is out of place. The mandatory love sequences and songs bring out the yawns among the audiences. The long flashback involving Saranya getting a free meal is no doubt smile worthy and her technique of getting her son a girl is also ok but it does not belong in this film and dilutes its intensity. The villains dancing with an item girl is as old as the invention of the camera itself. The cops recruiting a victim to infiltrate the ruthless gang would work in a commercial star vehicle but here its almost comical.
Achu Rajamani's music, P.G. Muthaiah's camera and San Lokesh's editing is of the what best can be done within a budget variety. Director Rahesh has chosen a plot that is easily relateable and he has also extracted neat performances from his cast but as mentioned earlier it is in choosing the style of narration is where he has faltered.
Verdict : Go for it if you fancy a thriller with a close to life subject told in a haphazard fashion
