Maappillai has a rather gimmicky setup as it has Rajnikanth's maappillai acting in a remake of the star's own film Maappillai. The original film had a lot of things going for it with an in-form Rajni, a perfectly-cast Srividya, a very pretty Amala, a hit soundtrack, an entertaining cameo by producer Chiranjeevi and a racy screenplay. Neither the cast nor the technical crew of the remake gave us hope that the film would live up to the original. And it doesn't. But the film's light-hearted tone and the comedy do make it a passable entertainer.

Devout and responsible Saravanan(Dhanush) is a model youngster for all the parents in his area. Gayathri(Hansika) falls for him after he saves her life and though Saravanan initially rebuffs her, he succumbs to her relentless wooing. Gayathri's mother, a rich businesswoman Rajeswari(Manisha Koirala), says "yes" to the wedding since she sees in Saravanan an obedient, submissive son-in-law. But she soon realizes that her expectations were completely wrong.

Maappillai cannot be called a faithful remake. While the basic son-in-law vs mother-in-law thread is intact, it deviates quite a bit from the original in its screenplay. The Dhanush-Hansika romance as well as the circumstances of their wedding are completely different here. For some time after the wedding, the film follows the original as Manisha tries to keep the newlyweds apart but once those episodes are done, it takes a very different route as Dhanush reforms Manisha. So the film is able to stand on its own without constantly being compared to its source and isn't completely predictable.

Since the film is primarily about the rivalry between Dhanush and Manisha, the romance between Dhanush and Hansika is treated rather perfunctorily and we aren't even sure exactly when Hansika falls for Dhanush. Vivek's ill-fated attempts to impress Hansika make up a familiar comedy track but do raise a few laughs here. Manisha's acceptance of the wedding and Dhanush's subsequent flashback do raise the interest level momentarily since they weren't part of the original. But not for long. While the flashback ostensibly sets up the clash between him and Manisha it seems more like a way to add masala ingredients like fights and an item number, which were absent before.

But even with the weak setup, the clash between Dhanush and Manisha is a letdown. Unlike the original, the two aren't against each other before the wedding, which means that their first confrontation doesn't happen until close to the intermission point. And post-intermission, after a couple of her plans are foiled by Dhanush, Manisha hardly proves to be a worthy foe since she is at the receiving end until the end of their long trip to the village. So the meetings between Dhanush and her lack energy.

The comedy works better and makes up for the lack of zing in the primary clash. Vivek's impersonation of an impossibly rich businessman and Manobala's act of a fake godman both lead to good laughs. Neither of these is particularly original but they do mine some effective jokes from familiar territory. Manisha's hardship at the village also has its share of laughs. Ashish's Vidyarthi's turnabout doesn't make much sense and seems forced but its nice that the climax takes the comic route instead of the usual, expected stunts.

Dhanush is his usual energetic self. He has an innate down-to-earth nature that allows him to deliver advice or punch dialogs without it seeming like over-the-top heroism. Hansika Motwani, who is being called one of Tamil cinema's next big things and has some big projects in her kitty, is a bit on the plump side and doesn't have much to do. Manisha Koirala looks jaded and just isn't able to convey the fire during her verbal clashes with Dhanush. The dubbing for both Hansika and Manisha is horrid also. Vivek's accent doesn't help much and Manobala probably gets more laughs with his godman act. Mani Sharma delivers a rather weak soundtrack. Ennoda Raasi... works due to the nostalgia factor while Ready Readyaa... is the only one that passes muster among the remaining original numbers. The original Maappillai's background score is also used at one place.