MADHARAASI is a cinematic uppercut. It is the kind of film that throws emotional trauma, psychological disorders, national security, shirtless fistfights and romantic flashbacks into a blender, hits maximum and pours out a 168-minute cocktail of chaos and charm.
Directed by action maestro A.R. Murugadoss and starring the ever-charismatic Sivakarthikeyan, this psychological action-thriller is soaked in slow-mo masculinity, sprinkled with just enough melodrama to soften its granite jaw. It is a full-course meal for those craving guns, guilt and good guys who cry. Think: What if Superman’s real kryptonite was love and his cape was untreated childhood trauma?
Lead worth rooting for
Sivakarthikeyan delivers one of his most emotionally complex performances yet, portraying a character who could easily have been reduced to a walking PSA for mental health. Instead, the film treats Raghu, a man battling Fregoli delusion, with dignity and depth. Raghu is a man who confuses strangers for lost family members. But instead of this being a liability, it becomes his inner compass. He fights not just for the country, but for the faceless “family” he has always believed in. It is tragically poetic and in this film, tragically poetic men punch really, really well.
One moment, he is hesitantly sipping tea like a softboy recovering from heartbreak, the next, he is reverse suplexing an arms dealer into a generator. His loyalty? Boundless. His heart? Probably duct-taped together. His bravery? Borderline self-destructive. And yet, it is this combination that makes him irresistible.
Muscular and evil
No Tamil action film is complete without bad guys who sneer in multiple languages and Madharaasi delivers on that front with gusto. The villains here are very North Indian, very muscular and very into distributing guns in Tamil Nadu. Vidyut Jammwal and Shabeer Kallarakkal chew the scenery with the intensity of men who have not blinked since 2019. Their outfits scream “syndicate chic” and their dialogue is soaked in threats, metaphors and the occasional Hindi phrase that sounds oddly poetic before someone gets dropkicked through a crate.
They serve their purpose with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, providing just enough menace to push our hero deeper into chaos. If they had twirly moustaches, they would have twirled them mid-fight.
Emotional beats (that sometimes punch you back)
The movie’s emotional core is surprisingly tender. Beneath all the testosterone lies a tale of a man just trying to hold on to his love, his identity and the only thing that gives his life purpose: saving others. His romance with Malathi (Rukmini Vasanth) is sweet and their dynamic feels precious. Malathi brings just enough light into Raghu’s world to make her absence devastating and just enough musical skill to give audiences a taste of what could have been an absolute banger of a romantic duet.
Which brings us to a betrayal more painful than any bullet wound in the film.
One song and done? Unacceptable.
The film opens with a gloriously choreographed musical number, full of colour, footwork and actual singing. It is the kind of moment that tricks the audience into thinking more are on the way. But alas, that was it. Just one. Like a free sample of chocolate cake that never returns to the buffet. Given that the music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, expectations were sky-high. But instead of being showered with duets or emotionally charged montage songs, we are launched straight into a never-ending stream of fight choreography and dramatic monologues.
The soundtrack still goes hard, make no mistake. But the lack of dancing? Unforgivable. The film teased a musical romance and then immediately handed us grief, PTSD and a pile of dead henchmen.
The man, the myth, the mental health icon
Madharaasi is not subtle. It is not paced like a prestige drama. It does not come with layered metaphors or arthouse ambiguity. What it does have is a lead character so loyal he makes dogs look flaky.
It has action sequences that blur the line between believable and not. It has a sincere attempt to portray mental illness without condescension. It has villains who act like they are auditioning for a Marvel film. And it has a plot so committed to drama, it feels like three movies in one. But for all its swagger, the film’s secret weapon is sincerity.
Raghu is a fractured, forgotten and fragile hero. And yet, his unshakeable desire to protect everyone he loves (or thinks he loves) turns him into something extraordinary. In a world full of gun-toting villains, sometimes what you need is a mentally unwell man in a windbreaker who believes everyone deserves saving.
DIRECTOR: A.R. Murugadoss
CAST: Sivakarthikeyan, Rukmini Vasanth, Aadukalam Naren, Vidyut Jammwal, Biju Menon
E-VALUE: 7/10
PLOT: 7/10
ACTING: 7/10
