Mandaadi review: Soori brings the fire, the sailboat race brings the thrill

Mandaadi movie review: Director Mathimaran Pugazhendhi's Mandaadi, starring Soori, Suhas and Mahima Nambiar, is an interesting film centred on a sailboat race. The film tackles themes of friendship, mentorship, betrayal and second chances in life.

In Short

• Soori transforms from comedian to lead with strong script choices
• Mandaadi centres on a unique sailboat race rarely seen in films
• Women characters have significant agency despite less screen time

Actor Soori’s transformation from a comedian to a protagonist is a testament to his hard work, perseverance and resilience. If there’s one thing that deserves appreciation in this renewed journey, it’s his script choices. With Mandaadi, Soori has picked a story centred on a sailboat race, a sport rarely seen in films. The unusual setting gives the film a distinct identity from the outset.

A young Maari (Mithun Jai Sankar), in the opening sequence of Mandaadi, almost kills antagonist Saatapuli (Suhas) and his son. A commotion at a local temple festival stops Maari from completing the murders. Saatapuli, an influential man who controls the sailboat business and racing team, is now hunting Maari. He escapes to Chennai and seeks help from Muthukaali (Soori), who works at a theme park in the city.

Muthukaali has a calm personality, but there’s a storm beneath it. Who is Muthukaali? Why does he want to take Maari back to his village, where his life is in danger? What is Muthukaali’s past? Mandaadi presents the story of a righteous Muthukaali, who returns to his village seeking a second chance in life, over the course of two hours and 34 minutes.

Director Mathimaran Pugazhendhi’s Mandaadi, at the outset, reminds you of director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu’s Lubber Pandhu. The parallels between the two films cannot be ignored. Both films revolve around a sport, feature men with ego issues and use women as catalysts in their stories. Friendship and betrayal are also common threads. While Lubber Pandhu laid bare the politics surrounding its sport without being preachy, Mandaadi takes a more commercial and mainstream approach.

One of Mandaadi’s biggest strengths is its sailboat race and the way the makers make it accessible to a lay audience. The rules are explained clearly, the strategies are easy to follow and, in no time, you find yourself invested in the game. The film also moves quickly towards the racing angle, ensuring that the sport remains central to the narrative. Characters such as Maari, Saatapuli and Kaali bring the action alive with their rugged presence.

The story’s progression, especially the friendship and betrayal arcs, can feel predictable. But they don’t significantly affect the overall impact. Soori and Suhas’s characters are pitted against each other and remain fairly one-note throughout. Interestingly, it is the women in the film who often push the story forward, despite having less screentime than the men.

Be it the panchayat head who is a woman, Kaali’s mother, his ex-girlfriend or Maari’s girlfriend, the women in Mandaadi are not merely passive characters in a story built around a male-dominated sport. They make decisions, take stands and, at crucial moments, influence the men around them. The conscious decision to give women agency in this world deserves special mention. Take the scene in which the news about Kaali’s ex-girlfriend is revealed to young Maari. It could have easily taken a conventional route, but the film gives the woman the agency to stand up for herself.

It is scenes like these that make Mandaadi an enjoyable affair. As a sports drama, the film has ample scope to become a full-fledged hero-elevation vehicle for Soori. And it does give him several moments to announce his arrival as a commercial hero. However, the film’s ensemble and its women characters ensure that the narrative does not rest entirely on him.

Soori and Suhas bring the rooted lives of the fishermen folk to the screen with earnest performances. One is driven by righteousness, while the other is powered by greed. You can anticipate where the two characters will eventually end up. It is in the whys and hows that Mandaadi holds your attention. Ravindra Vijay, Mahima Nambiar and Sathyaraj get well-rounded arcs despite limited screentime. Tourist Family fame Mithun Jai Sankar impresses as an impulsive youngster and a mentee.

Apart from the performances, Mandaadi benefits from SR Kathir’s cinematography, which captures the tension and physicality of the races well. Particularly, a fight between Suhas and Soori’s characters involving a sword and an anchor is wonderfully staged. Composer GV Prakash elevates the film’s emotional and racy beats with his background score.

Mandaadi may not reinvent the sports drama, and some of its emotional beats are predictable, but its unusual setting, rooted performances and assured treatment of its women make it an engaging watch.

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