Caveat: a long one like the movie; so, proceed if only you have patience.

Well, most so-called feel-good’ films are based either on comedy or emotions expressed in the right and extra measures through the characters. 

Amid the bedlam, action, blood, gore, and violence in Tamil movies,  ‘Meyyazhagan’ treads a different path. It fully banks on emotions, on many occasions realistic to exaggerated. Further, please remember that the major aspect of this two-and-a-half-hour-long movie is completely devoid of action, blood, violence, and, ahem, even romance but ‘bromance’. 

It is a romance, sorry bromance between two grown-up adults in a strange style. Arul Mozhi's (Arvindswami) family leaves the illustrious Tanjavur and their palatial old place-like house because of the wiley plot of the joint family members. In Chennai, they start their new life. But, surprisingly, Arvindswami is fond of his cousin-sister. Those relationships are not explained in detail. He ventures to attend the marriage reception only because of his dormant love for his young sis and a push from his wife to visit the native. 

But there was only a very cinematic emotional scene of the bro-sis meet in the reception; soon the story slips into the happenings of a garrulous youth (positively loud and loved by all Karthi) who almost chases Arulmzohi like a shadow with a lot of blabber and in between some sensible info. But Arul Mozhi helplessly swings between tolerating the chatterbox who beckoning him ‘Atthan’ every minute. (a term used in Tamil movies once to refer to and beckon the ‘beloved’). I too lost my patience with so much ‘goodness’ after a point. 

Understandably there was no place for female characters but for a few minutes.  

So when there is no ‘romance’ but only ‘bromance’ you could expect instantly drinking, singing (yes, Ilayaraja song), prancing, the intricacies of learning cycling, and even touching on the favorite topic of Tamil Nadu’s pride Jallikkattu (the bull’s name is ‘Dhoni’) and hold your breath a Cobra also. After a point, Arulmozhi’s patience (why, the viewers also) reaches a breaking point and escapes from his native and the intruder. However, the extraordinary bonhomie extended by that stranger disturbs him. He finally finds out as his teenage daughter helps her father’s predicament to talk to the unknown do-gooder through the phone. 

This film is a fairy, but a long tale about bromance and the lost relationships with the places from which one hails and the broken bonds because of bitter feuds. 

It reminded me of my reunion with my extended relationships when I went to my village for a marriage at the age of 23, the village from where I left with a bitter taste 18 years before losing our wealth. But, there were no Meyyazhagans and overtly exhibited bonhomie by someone as in the movie.

Writer and director C Prem Kumar made this movie as a reminder of the past which most of the present gen would have forgotten from where they hailed. One can appreciate the movie because it is an entertainer; perhaps a reminder of one’s onetime moorings and relationships with the extended families that had withered with time, and migration to different parts of the country and the world. But, that is inevitable.