Maayavi

2005 Tamil film

This article is about the 2005 Tamil film. For the Malayalam cartoon strip, see Mayavi. For other uses, see Mayavi (disambiguation).

Maayavi

Poster

Directed by| Singampuli
Written by| Singampuli
Viji (dialogues)
Produced by| Kalaipuli S. Thanu
Bala
Starring| Suriya
Jyothika
Sathyan
Cinematography| R. Rathnavelu
Edited by| Suresh Urs
Music by| Devi Sri Prasad

Production
companies

B Studios
V. Creations

Release date

* 10 March 2005 (2005-03-10)

Running time

| 135 minutes
Country| India
Language| Tamil

Maayavi (transl. Magician) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film directed by Singampuli that stars Suriya and Jyothika (who plays a fictional version of herself), whilst Vijayakanth makes a cameo.[1] The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Devi Sri Prasad. The plot is loosely based on the novel The Fan Club by Irving Wallace.

## Plot

[edit]

Abhes Balayya (Suriya), the guide conman thief, is footloose and fancy-free. He and his acolyte Sathyaraj (Sathyan) have no hangups in life. Balayya’s problems start when he and Sathyaraj land up in a huge villa on the beachfront. It is actually actress Jyotika’s (Jyothika) house. When they realize it, they want to replace what they have taken. As it happens, the actress catches them and creates a huge issue out of it. For their efforts, they are put behind bars. Jyotika does not like Balayya at all. Balayya goes out to take revenge on her and kidnap her. Just about when the whole industry and her family tries to trace Jyotika, she understands the real Balayya. In the end, Balayya comes to see her and gives her a gift, which is the photographs they took together.

## Cast

[edit]

As per the film's opening credits:[2]

* Suriya as Abhes Balayya
* Jyothika as Jyotika
* Sathyan as Sathyaraj
* Sangili Murugan as Asari
* Himani Shivpuri as Jothika's mother
* Vishnupriya as Sigappi
* Shanmugaraj as Shanmugam
* Aarthi as Constable Eshwari
* Srilekha Rajendran as Asari's wife
* Besant Nagar Ravi as himself
* S. Ramana Girivasan as Inspector Neelakandan
* Ramu as Police officer
* Halwa Vasu as Pickpocket
* Muthukaalai as Chepauk railway station henchman
* Suruli Manohar as Watchman

### Special appearances

* Vijayakanth as himself (uncredited)[1]
* K. S. Ravikumar as himself
* R. B. Choudary as himself
* Roja as herself
* Veerasamy as himself[3]
* R. Sundarrajan as himself
* R. Pandiarajan as himself
* Vikram Dharma as himself (uncredited)
* Rocky Rajesh as himself (uncredited)
* Appukutty as Volleyball player (uncredited)[4]

## Production

[edit]

Director Bala forayed into production with this film.[5] Jyothika dubbed for herself.[6]

## Soundtrack

[edit]

Maayavi

Soundtrack album by

Devi Sri Prasad

Released|

* 11 February 2005 (2005-02-11)

Genre| Feature film soundtrack
Length| 24:45
Label| Ayngaran Music
An Ak Audio
Producer| Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad chronology
| Thirupaachi
(2005)  | Maayavi
(2005)  | Bunny
(2005)

|
|

The film's soundtrack was scored by Devi Sri Prasad, marking his first collaboration with Suriya. Prasad reused the songs "Gongura Thotakada" and "Silakemo" from Venky and reused them as "Kaathadi Pole" and "Tamizh Naattil", respectively.[7] The song "Kadavul Thandha" is based on "Eppudu" from Sontham.[citation needed]

No.| Title| Lyrics| Singer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Jo Jo Jothika"| Palani Bharathi| Tippu, Sudha| 5:32
2.| "Kadavul Thandha"| Palani Bharathi| Kalpana, S. P. B. Charan| 4:34
3.| "Tamizh Naattil"| Kabilan| Palakkad Sreeram, Malathy Lakshman| 3:37
4.| "Oru Dhevaloga Raani"| Yugabharathi| Sumangali| 4:22
5.| "Maayavi"| Pa. Vijay| K. S. Chithra, Ranjith, Devi Sri Prasad| 4:21
6.| "Kaathadi Pole"| Na. Muthukumar| Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Kalpana Raghavendar| 2:19

## Release and reception

[edit]

The Hindu wrote how the idea of an actress being kidnapped was present in the film Vaaname Ellai.[8] Behindwoods noted that "Surya has given a superb performance. Jyothika is cute but does her bit of overacting".[9] BizHat wrote "The downside of the film lies in the second half when the action shifts to a room with three characters only. A more innovative way could have made the film more interesting and racy."[10] Chennai Online gave a negative review citing "It's meant to be a total comic entertainer, but the comedy being mostly juvenile, it starts grating on your nerves after a time."[11] Visual Dasan of Kalki wrote a rusted screenplay doesn't need a grand plot. The first requirement is interesting and non-boring incidents. Mayavi is a colorful example of this.[12] Sify wrote "Mayaavi is a jolly fun ride in the first half for its cute concept and silly slapstick comedy. The storyline has been explored earlier by Hollywood directors and later by Ramgopal Varma with Mast and recently in a Malayalam film Immini Nalloral. But the second half lags with too many unwanted sentiments and offers little in the way of surprise in the climax".[13] Deccan Herald wrote "Bala, who has produced this film and let his protege weird the megaphone, is behind almost all the scenes and sees to it that the film moves at a good pace. Only in the second half he seems to have taken rest and the film drags a bit. Nothing much to write about the songs but the camerawork is noteworthy. In short, Mayaavi is an entertainer".[14] The film was dubbed in Telugu as Kidnap (2006).[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Suriya goes nostalgic, recalls his experiences onTwitter". Sify. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015.
2. ^ Kalaippuli S Thanu. "Maayavi Full Movie | Suriya | Jyothika | Singampuli | Devi Sri Prasad". YouTube. Event occurs at 51:35.
3. ^ "THE MOST FAMOUS UNKNOWNS!". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
4. ^ Kalaippuli S Thanu. "Maayavi Full Movie | Suriya | Jyothika | Singampuli | Devi Sri Prasad". YouTube. Event occurs at 55:17.
5. ^ "Maayavi, Bala's production venture". The Hindu. 21 September 2004. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021.
6. ^ "Jyothika's voice". Behindwoods. 3 March 2005. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
7. ^ a b "Kidnap". Indiaglitz. 6 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
8. ^ ""Maayavi"". The Hindu. 18 March 2005. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
9. ^ "Maayavi Movie Review". Behindwoods. 19 March 2005. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
10. ^ "BizHat.com - Mayaavi Review. Surya, Jothika, Vijayakanth". movies.bizhat.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
11. ^ "Maayavi". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
12. ^ தாசன், விஷுவல் (27 March 2005). "மாயாவி". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 88. Retrieved 19 April 2024 – via Internet Archive.
13. ^ "Mayaavi". Sify. Archived from the original on 20 September 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
14. ^ Ulaganathan, G. (13 March 2005). "Mayaavi". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 13 March 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Maayavi at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Filmography of Bala

Directed|

* Sethu (1999)
* Nandhaa (2001)
* Pithamagan (2003)
* Naan Kadavul (2009)
* Avan Ivan (2011)
* Paradesi (2013)
* Tharai Thappattai (2016)
* Naachiyaar (2018)
* Varmaa (2020)
* Vanangaan (2025)

Produced|

* Maayavi (2005)
* Pisaasu (2014)
* Chandi Veeran (2015)
* Visithiran (2021)

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