Four years after his impressive debut film, Karthick Naren is returning with Mafia: Chapter 1. He has teamed up with Arun Vijay and Prasanna for a high-octane action drama. Priya Bhavani Shankar is the female lead in the film, who can be considered as the second protagonist in the Tamil flick.

The movie has Jakes Bejoy's music. He has scored four songs for the movie which are used as narrative tools in the film. Mafia has Gokul Benoy's cinematography and Sreejith Sarang's editing.

Mafia Movie Review
Arun Vijay's Mafia: Chapter 1.PR Handout

Story:
The movie is said to be inspired from Narcos, Netflix's web series. The story of Mafia is set in Chennai. The battle is between Aryan (Arun Vijay), a hunter, and RK (Prasanna), the Beast. It is the cat-and-mouse game between the hero and the villain which forms the crux of the story.

Analysis:
Mafia has style, but lacks somewhat substance. The story proceeds at its own pace and then goes all guns blazing in the end.The way the director connects the dots in the story makes it an interesting watch. Prasanna and Arun Vijay both have given top performance. 

Hype:
Arun Vijay has been choosy with his movies for some time now. His Thadam, which was released last year, not only on appreciation from the critics, but also became a successful venture at the box office. And Prasanna's choice of movies has also impressed the viewers. With the two united for Karthick Naren's film, a Tamil cine-goer will obviously have high expectations from movie.

Arun Vijay and Prasanna's Mafia
Arun Vijay and Prasanna's latest movie Mafia.PR Handout

The promos from Mafia: Chapter 1 has also generated positive vibes around the film. Will it live up to the expectations? Find it out in the viewers' words below:

AirJordan: #Mafia Review A masterpiece action movie in recent times fascinating screenplay makes it super fun to watch brilliant direction wat a comeback
@karthicknaren_M n great act by @arunvijayno1 @Prasanna_actor
@PriyabavAnis bgm visuals onanother level @LycaProductions #Blockbuster

Haricharan Pudipeddi: #Mafia - 3.5 stars. Ultra stylised gangster drama which has the perfect marriage of style and substance. Takes time to get used to this world but rewards you with a solid pay-off.
@karthicknaren_M is no one film wonder. @arunvijayno1 displays range with a fiery performance.

Poova: #Mafia - #Review
The intension of this is just to create strong base for Chapter 2. Yes, just to reveal the characters they took this so didnt work on script more. Climax twist is good, other than that just simple narration. @arunvijayno1 & @Prasanna_actor good in look&acting.
#Mafia Chapter 1 - Review contd
BGM is good. Too much slow motion makes the scenes lengthy. Nothing new in story and screenplay. The good thing is movie is just 1hr 50min.
Verdict - Just watch for the climax twist which lead to second part. Expecting more in second part

Siddarth Srinivas: #Mafia: Both @arunvijayno1 & @Prasanna_actor are the director's delights, elevating almost every scene with their smashing attitude, body language & diction. They bring their best to the table in the riveting climax episode of the film, which is the reason why I'll see it again!
#Mafia Interval: Style on a high. Takes its time to establish its characters, and build the hero - villain game organically. Lead actors, cinematography and sound design in terrific form.

Venkatramanan: #Mafia Interval - Goes with the investigative flow. Technically made well, loved few frame lightings & heroic shots much. Wanted it to be a bit clever too.

Review Ram: #Mafia (Tamil) - 2.5/ 5.
Stylish presentation with very little substance. No scene hits powerfully, PBS had one solid moment though. The male leads are just visually sharp. Ends on a high twist leading to the next chapter, but there's no grip in the progress.
DISAPPOINTMENTFrowning face
Moves on a predictable pace that doesn't pull much attention. No big research or thrills in the progress to maintain hold. Break-point scene is fine that conveys Diwakar's (#Prasanna) smartness and Aryan's (#ArunVijay) lack of thinking. Conveniently written.
#Mafia (Tamil) - Interval - Guns, blazers, coolers, English songs, etc make way for fancy presentation. Plenty of build-up shots for both #ArunVijay and #Prasanna, but character-depth is missing. It is maybe because everything is very simple and thin...

VCD: #Mafia - Decent role for @priya_Bshankar. But definitely a refreshing film to add to her filmography. Through Mafia, her path gets widened and no one can't really tag her as she will do only kudumba paangaana roles.
#Priyabhavanishankar

Rajasekar: #Mafia -@karthicknaren_M's key strength is his ability to connect the dots and the climax reveal. All the characters in the first half get connected in the second half, climax reveal is gonna work big time. A star vehicle for
@arunvijayno1.
#Mafia - @Prasanna_actor is brilliant. Wish to see him more such suave and stylish roles. Besides Prasanna and Arun Vijay, the sound designer and music composer are the other heroes of the film. Big shot out to them...
Halfway through #Mafia, a stylish action thriller. @karthicknaren_M takes fifteen minutes to establish characters but the cat and mouse game between
@arunvijayno1 and @Prasanna_actor is . Music and sound design, exceptional . Treatment is more like web show.

surendar: @Prasanna_actor after watching his terrific screen presence and dialogue delivery in Mafia , I want to see prasanna against thala with yuvan background music in one movie .If that happenes that's triple treat for cinema lovers #Mafia Done watching #Mafia Awesome action movie in tamil @karthicknaren_M neat dialogues and screenplay @arunvijayno1 @Prasanna_actor Both looks so stylish and rocked with their performance in movie.Background music killer, must watch in theaters for better experience

Kolly Flick: #Mafia Man, this film is in top gear !
@karthicknaren_M you beauty, his screenplay vindicates his ability.
@arunvijayno1 @priya_Bshankar @Prasanna_actor are exploding themselves in each frame they are appearing. Chapter 1 makes the basement strong for second part @LycaProductions

மாடர்ன் நாடோடி: #Mafia: Marvellous.
@karthicknaren_M pulls off an ultra-stylized film that seeds in the details at its own pace and then goes all guns blazing at the end. Boy, wait for that electrifying climax that'll surely surprise and excite you.
@arunvijayno1, what a man!

Point_Of_View: #Mafia the Lead given for chapter-2 is definitely a good surprise factor. Prasanna role is high on buildups & low on Villainism. 1hr 50mins runtime still feels over stretched. #Mafia could've been a single full length cat & mouse battle.