Maryan (film)

In early 2011, director Bharat Bala read about a 2008 incident involving three immigrant oil workers from India being kidnapped in the Darfur region of Sudan and how they had managed to escape from post being hostages. While improvising his script, the director met the former hostages who were held for 21 days under captivity. In late September 2011, the director narrated the first half of the film script to actor Dhanush and he agreed play the character Maryan. During this time, the filmmaker was done with half of the screenplay. Following his casting in the film, actor Dhanush became involved in character and screenplay-related discussions that were carried on for six months.[6] In March 2012, the film and collaborations were officially announced.[15] After a lot of research, the director came up with the film title and stated it is the name of the character. In Tamil it translates to "A man who never dies". As per the film script, it implies that the spirit of the man never dies.[6]

The director opined that the fishing community in southern India goes through terrible hardship and countries like Nigeria, Sudan, Libya borrow them as hard labor. The character played by actor Dhanush is a physically strong, economically poor but simple man from a very remote village who was in need of a job and hence, this forms the outline of the film.[6] Parvathy was signed on to play a key role as character Maryan's love interest in the film.[16] The director was inspired by the 2008 French-Liberian film Johnny Mad Dog, which starred a real-life group of LURD child soldiers and subsequently chose them as well as the cinematographer of that film, Marc Koninckx, to be a part of Maryan.[6]

A press release from March 2013 along with a poster revealed the film's outline as "A young man is faced with adversity. Life deals him immense challenges, and forces him to struggle to thrive. But he does, nevertheless, fighting to survive by thriving on the sheer undying spirit of the human will to survive. Along his thrilling journey is a tryst with adventure, a smattering of drama and a gritty tale that shows the power of love in extreme circumstances. And that is the story of Maryan."[17] In an interview with Zee News, Bharatbala quoted, "Even though it (Maryan) is about the fight for survival, it deals with several other emotions such as love, separation and struggle. The story recounts a beautiful journey about the separation of the protagonist from his loved ones and his struggle to reunite".[5]

As the film's story takes place in Sudan and in Kanyakumari, India,[18] Bharatbala noted that filming had to take place in two contrasting terrains. The sandy rugged locations in Africa were shot in Liberia, made to look like Sudan, and several other portions were shot in a month. Subsequent close-up scenes featuring supporting cast members from Africa were filmed in India. The first schedule of the film began in Namibia, with scenes including a fight sequence supervised by Dilip Subarayan, being canned.[19] The song "Nenje Ezhu" was shot in Namibia's Coastal Deserts featuring the leading duo.[20] Dhanush also shared screen space with a cheetah.[21]

The final schedule of the film started in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu in November 2012 and filming took place over a couple of months throughout the coastal region of South India.[22] Filming was also held in Mandaikadapudur village close to Kanyakumari, India, named as Neerodi in the film.[23] The entire film was shot in reverse with the climax scenes being filmed first and hence the last scene shot was the beginning scene of the film.[24] Dhanush underwent a special ocean diving course, to swim up to 50 feet underwater.[25] Bharat Bala said that Dhanush would jump with the diving suit, go deep, settle down and get rid of the suit and then surge for the actual shot.[5] Dhanush had two underwater support divers to supply him air during the underwater scenes. The underwater scenes were filmed in Andamans.[8] Certain arid land scenes were also shot at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.

The film incorporates firm Barco NV's Auro 11.1 surround sound technology. The re-recording in the Auro format was done at composer A R Rahman's AM Studios making it the first Tamil film to mix native sounds in the format.[9] Bharatbala claimed, one would find three different contrasting uses of the Auro 3D sound in the film. First, in the fishing village and the feel of the ocean surface, then deep into the desert and the sonic sounds and textures of the ocean, 50–55 feet under the water.[26] He revealed through Twitter that the film's digital intermediate works were completed by 9 July 2013. Scenes during the making of the movie were placed with the end credits of the film.[27]

The film received generally positive reviews upon release. The film's technicalities, performances of the lead actors and the score were applauded by the critics.[56]

At The Times of India, N Venkateswaran gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and quoted, "A soulful love story, but candy floss is not on the menu."[57] At The New Indian Express, Malini Mannath wrote, "Cocktail of love and action, lyrical in its narrative style in the first half, the film could, however, have done with more coherence and conviction in its second half".[58] Sandesh of One India Entertainment summarised, "Dhanush's sufferings on-screen, bursting and agony during emotional scenes have come out well. The film is a must watch for Dhanush's fans." He gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5.[59] S Sarawasthi of Rediff gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and claimed, "Mariyaan is a beautiful love story. However, what brings the film down a notch is the pace, especially the second half, which seems to drag quite a bit. And though the film may not appeal to all, it is definitely a must watch."[60] Critical review board at Behindwoods gave the verdict, "A film with breathtaking visuals, heart-stopping music, terrifically talented cast set on a very leisurely paced narrative." They rated 3 on a scale of 5[61] Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu noted, "A wonderful romance, but needed to be more."[62] Vivek Ramz of in.com summarised, "'Mariyaan' is a realistic and touching love saga and definitely deserves a watch! Better watch it in Auro 3D screen to experience it best." He rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5.[63]

International

At the Box Office of United States, the film had the biggest opening amongst all Indian films releasing on the same date.[12] In its opening weekend, at the UK and Ireland Box Office the film has collected £13,675 on 5 screens.[64] The film earned approximately ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹19 lakh or US$24,000 in 2023) in the second weekend. The total collections, one month estimate was ₹23.23 lakh (equivalent to ₹44 lakh or US$55,000 in 2023). At the Australian box office, the film raked in approximately ₹25 lakh (equivalent to ₹47 lakh or US$59,000 in 2023) at the end of the second weekend.[65]

Domestic

The film netted approximately ₹1.65 crore (equivalent to ₹3.1 crore or US$390,000 in 2023) in first weekend from nearly 35 screens and overall 531 shows in Chennai and suburbs. 85% average occupancy was recorded for these days.[66][67] After 10 days, Maryan grossed around ₹3.82 crore (equivalent to ₹7.2 crore or US$900,000 in 2023) in Chennai City and its vicinity.[51] In Coimbatore, Neelagiri, Erode and Tirupur, it crossed the ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹1.9 crore or US$240,000 in 2023) mark by 10 days. By end July 2013, a total of 55 screens were screening the movie. In Kanchipuram two theatres alone, the film grossed ₹6 lakh (equivalent to ₹11 lakh or US$14,000 in 2023).[51] Overall, the weekdays in the first week had 80% theatre occupancy.

In the second week number of weekend shows in Chennai were 306 and average theatre occupancy was 65%. The collections for the weekend grossed ₹75 lakh (equivalent to ₹1.4 crore or US$180,000 in 2023). During the subsequent weekdays, number of shows in Chennai were 600 with theatre occupancy 60% and the film grossed ₹1.44 crore (equivalent to ₹2.7 crore or US$340,000 in 2023). The second weekend experienced a drop compared to the first, but prime multiplexes reported near full houses. All over Karnataka, especially in Bengaluru City the film opened with a mixed response and second weekend's occupancy was less than 40% at the multiplexes.[51][68]

In the third week number of weekend shows in Chennai were 117 and average theatre occupancy was degraded to 55%. The collections for the weekend grossed ₹18 lakh (equivalent to ₹34 lakh or US$42,000 in 2023). For the following weekdays, number of shows in Chennai were 372 with theatre occupancy 40% and the film grossed ₹52.06 lakh (equivalent to ₹98 lakh or US$120,000 in 2023).[68]

After a month of the film release, weekend shows in the same city were 39 and average theatre occupancy further dipped to 40%. The collections for the weekend grossed ₹4 lakh (equivalent to ₹7.5 lakh or US$9,400 in 2023). For the subsequent weekdays, number of shows in Chennai were 132 with theatre occupancy 30% and the film grossed ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹19 lakh or US$24,000 in 2023).[68]