# Majaa

Majaa is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Shafi and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. It is a remake of the director's own Malayalam film Thommanum Makkalum (2005). The film stars Vikram, Asin, and Pasupathy, while Manivannan, Vadivelu, Vijayakumar, Biju Menon (in his Tamil debut), Murali, and Abu Salim (reprising his role from the original) play supporting roles. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. It tells the story of two adopted children changing from their old, mischievous ways of life.

## Plot

Govindan is a thief who has two sons: Aadhi and Mathi. Years go by, and the brothers decide to stop stealing, mend their ways, and lead a hardworking life with their father. They migrate to a neighboring village and meet a retired agricultural officer Chidambaram, who is in deep debt and is under pressure from the village landlord Kalingarayar to clear his debts. In efforts to help Chidambaram, Mathi confronts Seetha Lakshmi, Kalingarayar's daughter, who comes to collect the money Chidambaram owes her father. Seetha Lakshmi starts to acquire a liking for Mathi but keeps it hidden due to her father's atrocious temper. In an attempt to teach Kalingarayar a lesson, Mathi forcibly ties the mangalasutra around Seetha's neck. Kalingarayar, realizing his daughter's love for Mathi, comes down to arrange a grand remarriage between the two. However, things go awry when Manickam, Seetha Lakshmi's maternal uncle, comes to town in an effort to stop the wedding between the two as he has wicked plans of marrying Seetha Lakshmi and usurping her family fortune.

## Cast

* Vikram as Mathi
* Asin as Seetha Lakshmi
* Pasupathy as Aadhi
* Manivannan as Govindan
* Vadivelu as Pulipaandi
* Vijayakumar as Chidambaram
* Biju Menon as Rajavelu (Voice dubbed by P. Ravi Shankar)
* Murali as Kalingarayar
* Anu Prabhakar as Selvi
* Nithin Sathya as Muthu, Chidambaram's son
* T. P. Gajendran as Doctor
* Ilavarasu
* Mahanadi Shankar
* Muthukaalai
* Crane Manohar
* Abu Salim as Manickam, Rajavelu's henchman
* Sindu Tolani (special appearance in the song "Ayyarettu")
* Ram Lakshman as Ramudu & Bheemudu

## Production

The film was primarily shot at Pollachi.

## Soundtrack

The music was composed by Vidyasagar.
| Song title | Singers | Lyrics |
| "Ayyarettu Naattukettu" | Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram | P. Vijay |
| "Chi Chi Chi" | Shankar Mahadevan, Harini, Savitha Reddy,Karthik, Manikka Vinayagam | Yugabharathi |
| "Hey Pangaali" | Udit Narayan, Tippu, Manikka Vinayagam | P. Vijay |
| "Podhumadaa Saami" | Kailash Kher | P. Vijay |
| "Sollitharavaa" | Madhu Balakrishnan, Sadhana Sargam | Kabilan |

## Release

The film was released on 1 November 2005 alongside Sivakasi and Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam, Diwali day.

### Reception

Sify wrote, "The major flaw of Majaa is its wafer-thin story and screenplay, a mediocre subject to be remade from Malayalam [...] the film gives you a dreary sense of déjà vu, a feeling that one has seen it before". A critic from Chennai Online wrote that "'Thomanum Makkalum', the film's original Malayalam version, in which Mammootty starred, had some perfect casting for the trio. But here the combination of Vikram, Pasupathi and Manivannan somehow fails to jell together as a team". A critic from webindia123 wrote that "Overall it is a clean family entertainer worth a watch".
Lajjavathi of Kalki praised the humour and performances of Vadivelu, Pasupathy and Manivannan but felt Asin and Murali were wasted, Vidyasagar did not score well while panning Thaali sentiment scenes, crippling screenplay and lengthy dialogues. He was surprised by Vikram for choosing this film and she do not want to get him wasted in weak plots. S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu wrote "Getting an opening from an established producer like Rockline Venkatesh and with Vikram in the lead, director Shafi should have made the effort to make the fare more interesting".

### Box office

It was declared an average grosser.