Maareesan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sudheesh Sankar
Written by	V. Krishna Moorthy
Produced by	R. B. Choudary
Starring	Vadivelu Fahadh Faasil
Cinematography	Kalaiselvan Sivaji
Edited by	Sreejith Sarang
Music by	Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production company	Super Good Films
Distributed by	Romeo Pictures
Release date	25 July 2025 (2025-07-25)
Running time	152 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	₹15 crores
Box office	₹6.53 crore

Maareesan (transl. Maricha or figuratively, imposter) is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language drama thriller film directed by Sudheesh Sankar, written by V. Krishna Moorthy, and produced by R. B. Choudary for Super Good Films. It stars Vadivelu and Fahadh Faasil. The film's music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Maareesan was released in theatres on 25 July 2025. The film received positive reviews from critics and audience.^[2]

Dhayalan, known as Dhaya, is a petty thief who has been arrested multiple times but never changes his ways. After being released from Palayamkottai prison following his latest theft, he immediately steals a motorcycle and breaks into a house in Kanyakumari. Inside, he finds an old man, Velayudham Pillai "Velan", chained to a window. To Dhaya’s surprise, the old man is not alarmed but warmly calls him “Kumar.” Confused, Dhaya warns him to stay quiet while he searches for valuables.

Realizing Dhaya is not Kumar, Velan explains that he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and his son Kumar locks him up daily before leaving for work to prevent him from wandering off. Velan tells Dhaya there is nothing valuable in the house but offers him ₹25,000 from his bank account if he releases him. Dhaya agrees, and they go to a nearby ATM. When Dhaya notices Velan’s account holds millions of rupees, he decides to exploit him further. Even after receiving the promised money, Dhaya stays with Velan under various pretexts. The two embark on a road trip to Tiruvannamalai to meet Velan's brother in law. Along the way, Velan’s memory lapses often cause him to mistake Dhaya for Kumar.

Dhaya contacts his crime partner “Network” Ganesh living in Erode, who suggests he photograph Velan’s ATM cards to duplicate them and somehow obtain the PIN codes. Winning Velan’s trust proves difficult, as even Velan struggles to remember the codes. Dhaya begins to act like a friend, accompanying him to different places, and a bond slowly develops between them. Meanwhile, police investigate a murder in the house where Dhaya first encountered Velan. The crime appears linked to a serial killer who lures victims with phone calls and switches off the device after each murder. Authorities begin monitoring the phone’s activity.

Later, Ganesh joins Dhaya and Velan at a party in Salem. Velan spikes their drinks, rendering them unconscious. That same night, the serial killer’s phone reactivates and the police trace it to Velan, who calls Siva Selvam, a corrupt schoolteacher to demand meeting. Velan confronts Siva about sexually exploiting his underage students and kills him. Before dying, Siva admits he has a partner named Arun and provides Velan with his number. By the time police arrive, Siva is already dead and no other clues are found.

A flashback reveals that Velan’s wife, Meenakshi, was a child psychologist who counseled troubled children. During her work, she discovered that several girls had been abused but were too afraid to confide in parents or police. Meenakshi gathered evidence and filed a case, but her Alzheimer’s symptoms left her unable to testify coherently in court, leading to the case’s dismissal. Distraught, she commits suicide. Heartbroken, Velan vowed to avenge the victims, using her diary of abusers to track and kill them. It is also revealed that Velan does not have Alzheimer or memory issues. He has been feigning memory loss, imitating his wife’s condition to cover his actions.

In the present day, Velan and Dhaya visit Dhaya’s mother at his native village in Salem before leaving to Palakkad to visit Velan's adopted daughter Krishnaveni. During their halt in Coimbatore, Dhaya discovers a stash of SIM cards in Vela’s wallet, which makes him suspicious. Checking Velan's phone, Dhaya finds Velan's messages to Arun asking for underage girls. Unaware this is Velan's plan to lure Arun out, Dhaya misunderstands the situation and assumes Velan himself is a pedophile. He follows Velan after pretending to have fallen asleep only to find Velan waiting for Arun at a location where he shared. No one shows up and a disappointed Velan returns back to his room. Dhaya witnesses everything. He confides it to Ganesh.

Dhaya and Ganesh plot to kill Velan at Ganesh’s farmhouse in Coimbatore. They invite him under the pretence of a party. On the way, Velan realizes the car they’re traveling in has the same hanging decor as was in “Arun”s contact profile picture, Velan remembers seeing the same model car the day before while waiting for Arun to show up. Putting two and two together, Velan realises Arun is Ganesh and confronts him at the farmhouse. A fight breaks out, and Ganesh easily overpowers Velan until Dhaya arrives. Having learned the truth, Dhaya sides with Velan and together, they kill Ganesh.

In the final reveal, it is shown that Dhaya delivered the fatal blow, but Velan takes the blame upon himself. The scene where Dhaya saw Velan the first time, that Velan was chained to the window, also has nothing to do with Kumar or Alzheimer's. Velan was after his first target, a former jail warden turned pedophile and got handcuffed by him in a struggle, but managed to kill him with the chain. When he saw Dhaya approaching, he started his ruse with Dhaya's help.

After the success of Maamannan (2023), Fahadh Faasil and Vadivelu were rumoured to collaborate in another project produced by R. B. Choudary's Super Good Films,^[3] while the yet-to-be-titled film's cast and crew were not revealed.^[4] On 1 January 2024, Super Good Films officially announced their 98th project with Fahadh and Vadivelu in the lead roles and to be directed by Sudheesh Sankar.^[5] In late-January 2024, the title of the film, Maareesan was released.^[6] The technical team consists of music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematographer Kalaiselvan Sivaji and editor Sreejith Sarang.^[7]

The film reunites Vadivelu and Kovai Sarala following their collaboration in Mersal (2017), directed by Atlee.^[8] Apart from the lead cast, the film also features Vivek Prasanna, Sithara, P. L. Thenappan, Livingston, Renuka, Saravana Subbiah, Krishna, Haritha, and Telephone Raja in supporting roles.^[9]

Principal photography began on 22 January 2024.^[10] In early-April 2024, it was reported that about 50% of the filming had been completed and will resume once Fahadh completes his portions for Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024).^[11] The next schedule began on 24 October 2024 in Chennai.^[12]

The film has soundtrack and background composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja.^[13] The first single "FaFa Song" was released on 9 July 2025.^[14] The second single "Maareesa" was released on 19 July 2025.^[15]

Maareesan was released in theatres on 25 July 2025 alongside the Tamil film Thalaivan Thalaivii.^[16] The teaser of the film having Vadivelu and Faasil embarking on a road journey through different landscapes, with them singing the song "Aaha Inba Nilavinile" from the film Mayabazar (1957) was released on 4 June 2025.^[17]

Romeo pictures acquired the film's theatrical distribution rights in Tamil Nadu. AP International Films acquired the theatrical rights for Worldwide Distribution.

The film began streaming on Netflix from 22 August 2025 in Tamil and dubbed versions of Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada languages.^[18] The film Maareesan had 6.6 million watch hours globally on Netflix in the week ending August 31, 2025, and ranked as the seventh most-watched non-English film worldwide during that period. It also ranked among the top ten most-watched films in 12 countries, including India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Maareesan works best when it lets its contradictions breathe - two criminals finding kinship in their damaged moral compasses, each justifying their crimes through different lenses."^[19] Janani K of India Today gave 3/5 stars and wrote "'Maareesan' is a comedy thriller that can make you smile, hold you on the edge of your seats and support the morally flawed characters. If we look past the convenient writing, especially with the flashback and post-intermission, there’s a lot to love in 'Maareesan'."^[20]

Prashanth Vallavan of Cinema Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Maareesan is pregnant with premises of two perfectly engaging yet tonally different films, which could have worked on their own. The unfortunate chimera we did end up with serves only to show what happens when filmmaking overpowers storytelling, when the need to accentuate drama, the fixation on conforming to screenplay structures, and the hyper-awareness of genre tropes all come in the way of a story."^[21] Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote "While the first half is a slow burn, reminiscent of many Malayalam films for its pace and sweet nothing-ness, an arresting interval block sets things up nicely for a thriller. [...] Maareesan explores this aspect in good measure by taking up a protagonist who has dementia. That itself is a triumph — because forgetfulness is a big ordeal."^[22] Rajagopalan Venkataraman of Khaleej Times wrote that "The second half ditches everything it had built in the first half and goes in for a different tone. You’d be forgiven for rubbing your eyes and wondering if you entered the wrong theatre. It shifts gears, yes, but that feels too abrupt."^[23]

• Maareesan at IMDb