The film opened on 16 December 2011 across Tamil Nadu, alongside the Prashanth-starrer Mambattiyan, to positive reviews from critics. The Hindu gave the film a positive review citing that "Mouna Guru is one of the small gems of Tamil cinema this year" and that "it marks a promising debut for Shantakumar and advances Arulnidhi's career".[7] Rohit Ramachandran from Nowrunning.com rated the movie 3/5 and wrote that "Mouna guru is a well-intentioned thriller that keeps you glued to your seat, which is more than I can say for most Tamil movies."[8] Sify.com described the film as "very good", claiming it "works as an intelligent, taut thriller that sustains dramatic tension throughout". The critic also went on to claim that Arulnithi "drives the film with the intensity in his eyes, body language and an underplayed performance", while describing John Vijay's performance as "riveting".[9] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com gave the film three and a half stars and described the film as a "must-watch", while mentioning that Uma Riyaz Khan "walks away with the honours".[10] Behindwoods.com gave the film three stars out of five praising the director Shantakumar's execution, while also singling out John Vijay's act as "the performance of his career".[11]
Revealing anything more about the story would be a bit of injustice to the film. And, it would also be a very hard job to describe it in a few lines because there are so many characters and minute details so important to the central plot. Almost every single character and scene shown in the movie contributes significantly towards the movement of the story, which is what sets Mounaguru apart.
The best thing about Mounaguru, as said earlier, is the fact that it does not have much time or space for anything except its central plot. So, music plays only a supplementary role. The songs are very few and the BGM does not stick out, demanding attention. The camera, which would have been tempted to go in for that dim and dark look for the thriller feel, keeps things real and normal. There is no excessive darkness or artificial tones imparted which only enhances the originality of the movie. The fights too look original. There is not a single instance of anyone flying six feet off the ground!
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