Maya Review :-

PLOT :- 

The story of a Man (Aari) who recently had a love failure & Apsara (Nayanthara) a single Mother who recently separated from her Husband get connected through a murder that took place 24 years back . 

PERFORMANCES :- 

NAYANTHARA AS APSARA - Nayanthara was earlier critisized for struggling to emote in her last women centered film Nee Engae En Anbe (Anamikha in Telugu) has improved well . Just for a clarification, Nayanthara is not the film's main character, she is just one of the important characters . Kudos to Nayanthara for underplaying her role , rather than overreacting or behaving like a stone faced actor. 

AARI & THE OTHERS - Most of these characters are soft spoken people who behave very usual, hence a natural performance itself was more than enough . 

TECHNICALITIES :- 

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY SATHYAN SOORYAN - Its just too hard to believe that this is a South Indian film, the lightings are on par with Hollywood . The Cinematographer who has taken inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock films, has done a brilliant job with simple Black & White Lightings that are very affective despite limited usage of color. So far this year in Tamil, PC Sreeram's work in I & OK Kanmani remained the best in terms of Cinematography, but this one is more superior . 

EDITING BY T.S.SURESH - The film's multi layered narrative demanded a sleek editing with careful minimal jump cuts, Suresh has done just that to bring all the small pieces together to get something fully satisfying . 

MUSIC BY RON ETHAN YOHAAN - Just when it almost felt like Ghibran's music in Uttama Villain & Papanasam will remain the best this year, comes a shock from this newcomer, who has composed one of the best original scores ever for an Supernatural Thriller . 

ART DIRECTION - So what art directors usually do in films like these ?, they are asked to erect a mansion similar to the one in Chandramukhi, that's something that happens in most of the South Indian films . But here, what's required here is very unusual, the atmosphere should feel like The Conjuring but it should be little more shallow and abandoned . The art director's approach to make even usual things in a more effective way should be lauded . Like how a great art director from Hollywood said long back, it doesn't matter how big or how costly the set is, what  matters is how much effort has been put to make it look effective in all perspectives . 

VFX & ANIMATION - Though the film was filled with more practical effects than Computer Generated Imagery . The work of VFX Artists still remains integral in small blink and miss moments . 

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ASHWIN SARAVANAN :- 

Oh God, there have been almost half a dozen promising newcomers already this year, the list keeps expanding with Ashwin Saravanan turning out to be the best find of the year . A rare person who can write good scripts and present it well on screen with perfection . 

PLUS :- 

Narration 

Cinematography 

Editing 

Sound Design 

Original Score 

Art Direction 

VFX & Animation 

Screenplay & Direction 

MINUS :- 

Little slow & uneasy at few points 

THE FINAL WORD : What makes Hollywood better than Indian films, is the way take minute frames with atmost care and narrating the story better with so much intensity and give full satisfaction to the audience . Maya is the relief for all those who we're waiting for such a film in India . 

RATING : 9.5/10