Masss movie review: Suriya's masala potboiler makes a MESS of an interesting supernatural plot!

By Subramanian Harikumar
| Updated: May 29, 2015 5:48 PM IST

Though the story is interesting, there are enough cliches and commercial elements in the second half that spoil the good foundation laid by an entertaining first half

Horror comedies seem to be the flavour of the season. After the tremendous success of Kanchana 2, director Venkat Prabhu comes up with a story on the lines of horror comedy but adds his punch of masala elements to it to conjure a film called Masss. The film stars Suriya in dual roles and is an important flick in his career as his last outing Anjaan was a disaster. Actors like Nayanthara, Pranitha and Premgi Amaren along with music director Yuvan Shankar Raja form an able team of Suriya's Masss. Will the filmmaker manage to milk the supernatural story to great success just like Raghava Lawrence did in Kanchana 2? Lets kickstart the review. Also Read - Pushpa 2 star Allu Arjun’s marriage video goes viral; fans say, ‘Pushpa Biwi ke aage jukh gaya'

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The movie tells the story of a con man Massilamani aka Masss played by Suriya, who steals money along with his friend Jet played by Premgi Amaren. While trying to escape after a heist gone wrong, Masss and Jet meet with a car accident, post which Masss starts seeing ghosts in real life. After finding out that even his friend Jet is now a ghost, he forms a group of loitering ghosts to earn money by performing fake exorcisms and extorting money from scared rich people. Soon he meets a ghost called Sakthi, a Srilankan Tamil, also played by Suriya. Sakthi tells Masss to help him pull a heist of Rs 75 crore. Sakthi knowingly sabotages the plan and Masss ends up running over a Hawala king. Soon it is revealed that Sakthi is none other than Masss' father, who was killed by land mafia many years ago. How Sakthi and Masss team up to avenge the death of their family forms the rest of the story. Also Read - Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan will NOT be delayed; makers to drop BIG DHAMAKA around IPL 2023 finals? HOT SCOOP

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What's good:

The concept of the film is novel and interesting as it amused me how Suriya managed to form his own team of ghosts to con people, by using his ability to interact with the ghosts. The first half of the film is pretty good as the mood of the film is light and the director is focused on telling you a unique story. And there are few good plot twists peppered here and there to surprise you. Suriya gives his all and comes up with an earnest performance. Playing two roles, Suriya manages to set the difference between two characters - as he shines in the shoes of a local goon and looks menacingly cold as the ghost with hidden motives. Premgi Amaren plays the worthy sidekick of Suriya and surprisingly manages to come up with few good laughs without irritating the audience. Yuvan Shankar Raja's songs are perfectly synced with the story and the Poochandi song stands out from the rest. There is a lot happening in the film, which makes the film far from turning into a bore fest. Kudos to Venkat Prabhu for giving a believable ending to the multiple sub-plots in the film. Other actors like Karunas and Sreeman have done a decent job in a short role. Suriya and Nayanthara look great together, but alas they have very few scenes together. References to films like Mankatha and other popular Tamil films, along with trademark dialog of Vijay will make you grin from ear to ear. Watch out for the surprise cameo from Jai as he reprises his character from Engeyum Eppothum. Partheeban as corrupt police officer Vikram is cheeky and super fun.

What's bad:

All the good work and the interesting story telling which lifted the first half, is let down by the clichéd second half. Post interval, the film loses its charm of being a light hearted entertainer and enters the commercial film mode with loads of action, melodrama and plot twists. The film starts to drag as soon as it is revealed that Sakthi is Masss' father indeed, as anyone can guess how the film will end from their. The heroines in the film are wasted as the film has absolutely nothing to do for them. It is sad to see a good performer like Nayanthara playing the same old damsel in distress. There are lots of loopholes in the story telling that after a time it becomes impossible to ignore them. The heavy handed treatment of the second half of the film was a huge let down.

What to do:

Even though Venkat Prabhu messes it a bit in second half, the film has enough dosage of fun in it to warrant you a watch at the theatres. Watch it for the comic exchanges between Suriya and his gang of ghosts. Had it been a comic caper, I would have been tempted to give it three stars. But alas! the same old revenge saga makes a mess out of Masss. Go with minimum expectations and chances are that you might end up liking it.

Rating : 2.5 out of 5

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BySubramanian Harikumar
| Updated: May 29, 2015 5:48 PM IST