Director: Suryaprakash
Cast: Sharat Kumar, Meena, Suvalakshmi, Vadivelu, Manorma, Manivannan, Kovai Sarala

Mayi is born to a mother who has leprosy and who soon commits suicide unable to bear her son's yearning to be in her arms. He is scorned by all around him, even a morsel of food is hard to get. His father sympathises with his plight, but does little more. Mayi toils hard and in a couple of decades becomes a powerful, influential man, owning hospitals and colleges, wooed by politicians who want to win elections. Respected by all the villagers, his word is law around the place. He is also determined that if his mother could not touch him, no other woman would. Till his cousin appears on the scene. City bred, she has only scorn for the illiterate, simple man she encounters. Till she realises the power he wields. And then she expresses her determination to marry him. And Mayi finally succumbs to her charms and gives in. That in short is the life and times of 'Mayi'.

If the 'present' has the script moving at only one level - in euologising Mayi - the flashback to his past is worse. Tragic and melodramatic with little 'Mayi' (Master Mahendran) overdoing his bit. There is just so much goodness one can take, so much empathy one can feel for another. If one goes overboard with the positive qualities and attributes of a person, it backfires. If 'Mayi' was a word in the dictionary, it would have been defined as 'noble', 'gutsy', 'valiant', 'just', 'generous', 'aggressive', 'wealthy', 'powerful', 'influential', 'law - maker', 'executioner', 'a respected village elder', 'a confirmed bachelor', 'a one-man army', etc., etc. The title role of Mayi, the protagonist in debutant director Suryaprakash's film, is played by Sharat Kumar. The actor seems to be bogged down by the sheer weight of all those noble qualities. The hangover of 'Nattamai' too seems to be weighing heavily on both the actor and the director.

Vadivelu's comic antics bring in relief for some time. Then that too fizzles out. For Kovai Sarala bashing him up is becoming as familiar as Goundamani bashing up Senthil. In the drab dry narration, the director tries to bring in some colour by way of 'dream songs', where Meena and Sharat get to wear some exotic dresses, Meena even losing some of her inhibitions. Manthara is roped in to do a sizzling dance number, which she does half-heartedly. 'Mayi' is 'Nattamai' and 'Chinna Gounder' gone a bit too far!