Maattrraan

“Maattrraan” (2012) The Tamil action thriller was scripted and directed by K. V. Anand. The movie features Suriya in dual roles, with Kajal Aggarwal and Sachin Khedekar co-starring. The inspiring story follows the conjoined twins as they find out an awful secret and defend their father’s thriving business from corporate spies.

Ramachandran (Sachin Khedekar), a genetic scientist, engineered his conjoined twin sons, Akhilan and Vimalan (Suriya in dual roles), who share one heart. Vimalan is the smarter twin, often helping his carefree brother Akhilan out of trouble. Their mother, Sudha (Tara), refuses to separate them, even if it risks their lives, but Ramachandran's job loss leads him to create a health drink called Energion with his company Locus Lacto. Vimalan, now a chemistry graduate, works in the family business and likes translator Anjali (Kajal Aggarwal). When undercover journalist Volga reveals secrets about Energion, she is killed, and Vimalan is critically injured and declared brain dead. Doctors then separate the twins, giving Akhilan a shared heart.

After Vimalan’s death, Sudha starts to realize that something is not right with Energion. Akhilan digs deeper, journeying overseas and coming face-to-face with his late father’s history. He finds out that Energion is toxic and that Ramachandran went about creating P.A.W. Akhilan tries to find out the truth with Anjali’s help. He discovers that he and Vimalan were artificially engineered in a laboratory and not born in the customary manner. In the process, Akhilan overcomes Ramachandran’s scheme, removes the public danger posed by Energion, and secures his brother’s legacy.

“Maattrraan” mixes sci-fi and a love story with action, and gives voice to South Asian characters. Suriya’s spectacular dual performance as the two twins raised apart and in very different circumstances, is riveting. This is where the new film ventures into territory not typically visited by stories that tackle genetic engineering. With breathtaking cinematography, nail-biting suspense, and heart-pulling emotion, it is a different take on the tired twin-themed dramas that normally plague Tamil cinema.