Written & Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj
Produced by Xavier Britto
Co-Produced by Lalit Kumar & Jagadish Palanisamy
Telugu Distributor - Mahesh Koneru (East Coast Productions)
Music - Anirudh Ravichander
DOP - Sathyan Sooryan
Art Director - Sathees Kumar
Editor - Philomin Raj
Lyrics - Anantha Sriram, Krishna Kanth, Sri Sai Kiran - Mali
Stunts - Stunt Silva
Dialogues - Rajesh A Moorthy
Choreography - Dinesh, Sathish
Executive Producer - R Udayakumar
Costume Designer - Pallavi Singh
Chief Make-Up Artist - P.Nagaraj & Preethi Sheel
Costumer - V.Sai

Rating: 2.5/5

Kollywood star hero Vijay who is riding high with the grand success of his recent outing, 'Bigil' finally came up with his next title as 'Master'. Amid high expectations, the movie finally hit the theatres today on January 13th. 'Khaidi' fame director Lokesh Kanagaraj helmed this project which increased the expectations on the film even more. Also, another interesting thing about the film is that Vijay Sethupathi is playing the villain role in this movie. The fans are super excited to see 2 superstars locking their horns on the silver screen. Let's check out the review of the movie.

Story:
JD (Vijay) is a psychology professor in a college. Though the entire college management is against him because of his drinking issues, he has a great following among the students. One day, JD insists that the student elections should take place which is against the college management. So, the principal keeps a condition that JD should leave the college if any chaos happened during the elections. After the election results, a huge fight takes place and JD has to leave the college. At the same time, he has to join as a professor in a Juvenile Observation Home. So many shocking situations take place in the juvenile home and he has to lock horns with Bhavani (Vijay Sethupathi) who has been instigating the child criminals in the juvenile homes to make bigger crimes. Can JD defeat Bhavani forms the rest of the story?

Performances:
Vijay is definitely the backbone of this film and his fantastic performance became one of the major highlights of the film. We can say that he is the show stealer of this film and carried the entire movie on his own shoulders. The other actor who also stole the show is Vijay Sethupathi who appeared in an unapologetically evil kind of role in the flick. His performance in this movie is remarkable. Malavika Mohanan's energetic performance also added more strength to the film. Shanthanu Bhagyaraj breathes life into his character. The way he slipped into the role is worth appreciating. Arjun Das and Andrea Jeremiah delivered honest performances in the movie. Nasser acted naturally. Ramya Subramanian's screen presence is good. Dheena and Sanjeev also did their best. The rest of the actors also made their presence felt.

Technical Aspects:
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj handled the script in a boring way. He has narrated the story well but failed in presenting it engagingly. The elevations in the movie are mind-blowing and the entire credit will go to director Lokesh Kanagaraj. But his writing became slow in the second half. Production values by XB Film Creators are lavish. Music by Anirudh Ravichander is extraordinary. Also, his BGM in the action sequences is captivating. Cinematographer Sathyan Sooryan has produced some beautiful visuals for the film. Editing by Philomin Raj is clean and neat.

Verdict:
Though there are some superb shots in the film, most of the movie scenes are just average and it felt like the director gave extra elevations to the story which became boring for the audience. Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi's mind-blowing performances, Anirudh's outstanding music, interval bang, and Sathyan Sooryan's visuals are the biggest plus points for the film. The routine story, slow-paced narration, dragged run time, boring editing, and the worst second half became the minus points of the film. The movie will be an eye feast for both Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi fans but the movie lovers might not like the film. On the whole, audiences who go to the theatres without any expectations and Lokesh Kanagaraj mark scenes can enjoy the film.

Plus Points:
Vijay's Performance
Dialogues
Music and BGM
Fights

Minus Points:
Tamil flavor scenes
Routine Story

Final Verdict: 'Master' is a great start to Kollywood but just ends up as an average film in Telugu