Maya Bazar Malayalam Movie

Feature Film | 2008
Critics:
Audience:
Maya Bazaar, intended to be a colourful entertainer, turns out to be a rather drab affair.
Oct 6, 2008 By Thomas T


Maya Bazaar was eagerly awaited by fans of Mammootty, who were longing to see their favourite star dance and sing and fight and utter the best of dialogues.


But the film turns out to be a disappointment and offers nothing spectacular at all. Though it doesn't bore you, it doesn't entertain you either. And since people were expecting a full-fledged entertainer in the vein of Rajamanickam and Thurupu Gulan, they feel badly let down because Maya Bazaar doesn't come anywhere close.


Maya Bazaar is a place in a village called Mayannoor where people sell parts dismantled from old and discarded vehicles. There is a bunch of interesting characters that we come across in Maya Bazaar. Rameshan is a good-hearted guy who had come from elsewhere and established himself in Maya Bazaar. He has a coterie of friends who are always with him. With the money he earns by selling automobile parts, he feeds patients at the local hospital. His father Damodaran, known popularly as 'Akkiri' Damodaran, is a foot loose type of guy who comes to live with his son every once in a while. The two of them are more like friends. Then there is Bhadran, who too is in the spare parts business. He is at loggerheads with Rameshan.


Maya, a young girl who lives in Maya Bazaar with her mother assists the elderly Jose in running his tea-shop. She loves Rameshan, but the latter doesn't seem to reciprocate this love. Bhadran on the other hand wants to marry Maya and hence doesn't like her having any soft feelings for Rameshan. Life goes on like this in Maya Bazaar until one day Rameshan happens to see at the local hospital, the dead body of a person killed in a road accident. The person looks exactly like him. Moreover there are many things about the dead person that seem mysterious. Things take a new turn from here.


The idea of setting the story against a place like Maya Bazaar is interesting. The place itself, the jobs that people there do for a living, and things related to their lives could indeed have been used as fodder for a good entertainer. But the story that the film has chosen to narrate lacks appeal and the narration itself is unimpressive.


Though Mammootty as Rameshan is good, something is lacking in his performance. He tries his best to be lively and energetic, but he doesn't get anywhere close to the performance he delivered in films Rajamanickam, Mayavi etc. Perhaps he is fed up doing such characters again and again. Maya (Sheela in Tamil), who plays the role of Maya in the film, is just about OK. Rajan P. Dev as the hero's father is his usual self. Kalabhavan Mani as Bhadran does full justice to his role in his characteristic style. Tisca Chopra doesn't have much to do and fails to impress. Suraaj Venjaramoodu, Salim Kumar, Bijukuttan etc are just passable.


Technical aspects are in sync with the mood and the tempo of the film. Art-director Prashanth Madhav has done a good job with the sets and deserves appreciation. The songs are just about average. In short, Maya Bazaar, intended to be a colourful entertainer, turns out to be a rather drab affair.


Thomas T

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