Maara

Dhilip Kumar's 2021 Tamil film is a remake of the Malayalam production Charlie. Seeing a tale painted across the walls of a coastal town, Paaru recognises a story she heard from a stranger as a child and sets out to find the man who painted it. The film is a search in which the person sought is never directly reached. Paaru finds the people Maara touched and learns what he did through their accounts. That structure comes from the original. The cinematography and use of colour are its strongest elements; the coastal town and the murals produce a fable-like texture. Against that, the pace is slow and the energy of the original is not fully matched. Madhavan and Shraddha Srinath take the leads. Who it's for: those who like visually rich, quiet romantic drama. Who it's not for: viewers who have seen the original; this version repeats the same scenes at a heavier pace.