Maradona Review: An impressive film coming from a new team!

Tovino Thomas starrer Maradona has hit screens today. Vishnu Narayan is directing this movie, script for which is written by Krishnamoorthy. The makers had kept the promos very minimal without letting out what’s in store for the audience. Let’s see how the movie has turned out to be.

The movie tells the story of two Malayali youngsters, Sudhi and Maradona, who are in to ‘quotation’ and other odd jobs to see quick money. They are forced to be on the run after messing with a highly influential politician. The story is primarily centred around Maradona, who takes shelter with one of his relatives in Bangalore. The movie explores how the people around influence him to become a better person.

The narrative style employed by Vishnu Narayan and his writer Krishnamoorthy is quite impressive with two parallel tracks – one with Maradona and the other involving the gang who are on the lookout for him and Sudhi. During his life in the high rise building, Maradona goes through many changes for the good. His character arc is well-sketched and Tovino’s earnest performance makes it even more convincing.

Vishnu Narayan has made a solid debut, be it with the story telling or extracting the best from his lead actors or with the use of music to convey the emotions. Particularly impressive was how well the Chikmagalur action sequence has been choreographed. The screenplay has its highs and lows but the stand out element is the romance track between Maradona and Asha.

The makers have handled it very maturely with no cheesy dialogues or unnecessary melodrama. The boyish charm with which Tovino performs is a delight to watch. Equally good was his other shade, where he had to showcase the tougher side of Maradona. Debutante Sharanya R Nair, who plays the role of a part-time home nurse, makes an impression right from her first scene and brings out a genuine portrayal of a bubbly-yet-strong young girl.

Chemban Vinod Jose has an interesting character in the movie. He has a story of his own, unlike the usual one-dimensional gangster, who is on a mission to hunt down. Kichu Tellus, Tito Wilson, Leona Lishoy, Jins Baskar and the old man, who plays the neighbor, have also given good performances.

Sushin Shyam’s beautifully composed songs are finely woven around the story, and are effectively used as a tool to take the plot forward. On the down side, the latter half is slightly lengthy and it affects the pace. But still, editor Saiju Sreedharan has managed to keep the audience engaged. The climax part has been conceived well and thankfully doesn’t try to feed spoon-feed anything.

Maradona is a film which is shaky at times but is still impressive from an overall perspective. Good performances, delightful music and some clever writing towards the end lands the movie safely.