Mirai movie review: Teja Sajja and Manchu Manoj deliver a generic yet engaging film

He leaps across bridges, survives snowy mountains, fights giant mythical creatures, and eventually comes of age, countering Mahabir Lama’s deadly sorcery and a legion of bloodthirsty assassins. In comparison, all the hero boasts is an ascetic guide in Vibha (Ritika Nayak), a wisdom-dispensing sage (Jayaram), and two friends who double as comic-relief sidekicks.

Shriya Saran plays Ambica, a yogini who leads an ashram in Himachal Pradesh, and under whose watch is the ninth (and the most vital) scripture. Ambica’s premonition about the world getting destroyed by Mahabir forms the genesis of the story, and the film rides on her character’s voice of reason to elaborate on a world in which multiple other tribes are entrusted with safeguarding a scripture each. Jagapathi Babu plays another important character as the chieftain of one of the tribes or sects.

Watch interview with Mirai actor Teja Sajja

Karthik Gattamneni, co-writing the script with Manibabu Karanam, positions the film as a spunkier reimagination of the devotional epic that once held a formidable place for itself at the box office. His vision is extracted emphatically from the vibrancy of Hindu Mythology, but with the sensibility and energy of a modern Hollywood superhero blockbuster. With the help of an inventive visual palette that also includes a combination of effective VFX, animation, and AI-rendered imagery, Mirai elevates its dense yet generic material into an experience to savour, whenever the narrative finds its groove.

The film is, at its core, about visual dazzle, and its merits solely stem from the fact that the grandeur has been achieved on what appears to be a mid-sized budget. So, when the flaws in its storytelling become apparent, the viewer might feel inclined to overlook them because of the ambition that the makers carry and the near-precision with which they execute their spectacle. The religious symbolism inscribed unabashedly across the sub-three-hour narrative is also impossible to miss, but there is the small consolation that no particular community is cast as the villain in the process.

The writing, though, is clearly undermined by a certain flatness that cannot be ignored. Mirai chooses to relay the story almost linearly, and as a result, it grows predictable with each passing scene. With Ambica’s strife to protect the ninth scripture and the preceding portion involving Emperor Ashoka enunciated in the very first hour, Vedha’s late entry into the proceedings doesn’t generate the same impact that the film would have otherwise benefited from. By the time Vibha reaches Vedha seeking his powers, we are already fully aware of the stakes and the antagonism he must confront, meaning that each hurdle he crosses is affecting only in isolation, without adding much to the narrative tension.

In other words, the screenplay is completely rid of the mystery and emotional resonance that a story of this kind requires. The first encounter between Veda and Mahabir, for instance, should have been far more compelling than what is delivered. The sequence in which Vedha comes face-to-face with a creature from the Ramayana is masterfully realised (as are the other action blocks in the film), but its staging feels off and untimely. Another scene in which he finally lays hands on the divine weapon, or the one that traces his mother’s spirit and sacrifice, should have been woven in to elicit goosebumps in the viewer, but none of them do so because of the lack of surprise or stealth in the writing.

Yet, as a corollary, the film manages to create a memorable villain. Manchu Manoj’s Mahabir has the essence of a Lord Voldemort, and the actor does a mighty fine job in portraying a strikingly similar power-hungry, unloving yet skilled personality. Even the dynamic between him and Teja Sajja’s Vedha feels like a hat-tip to the Harry Potter setup, in which the courage and empathy of a much-younger hero (the chosen one) mirror the antagonist’s terror and ruthlessness. As much as Teja Sajja puts his best foot forward and impresses with his commitment, it is Manoj who steals the show with his nonchalance and on-screen charisma.

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Mirai is a smart endeavour in that it knows exactly where it wants to shine, and where it can afford to kick back a little. It’s also a film meant for and originating from the present-day theatre-going culture: it doesn’t necessarily bother going to the depths of its core idea and, in turn, has readied itself to be another franchise that welcomes newer, and potentially bigger, players into its fold. This one, though, puts on a good show despite going through the motions for most parts. Give this a go mainly for the superb action choreography and Gowra Hari’s thumping score.

Mirai movie director: Karthik Gattamneni
Mirai movie cast: Teja Sajja, Manchu Manoj, Ritika Nayak, Shriya Saran, Jagapathi Babu, Jayaram
Mirai movie rating: