Mammootty teams up with director Shafi in "Maayavi". The wheel has turned full circle for the actor who is back in mainstream cinema after doing some offbeat roles in the last four months.

This is a typical superstar film with all the vital ingredients to please his fans - comedy, action, emotions and even a tentative dance sequence.

Mammootty plays Mahi, who owns up his crimes and spends time in jail for money. He also metes out vigilante justice by beating up people in the dark without revealing his identity to his prey or even giving them a chance to react - that's how he gets the name 'Maayavi', meaning a mysterious spirit.

It is hard to outline the story, as it is structured in an episodic manner with the main character as the link. All other characters appear, vanish and reappear.

One of these, for example, is Balan (Manoj K. Jayan), Mahi's friend in jail for whose brother our hero accepts the murder rap.

Initially, their relationship is like that of twins. But the screenplay shuns Balan after this and shows him again in pre-climax portion in a villainous mode. This would have been a surprise element, if it worked. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

What works is the series of one-liners, though they border on innuendoes once in a while. But the dialogues sustain the viewers' interest.

Mammootty infuses life into his character with his dialogue delivery. He shines in the scenes with Salim Kumar and Suraaj Venjaaramoodu. One just wishes that the scenes were better written.

The other actors in the ensemble also do a decent job. Gopika does impress with whatever she has got to do. K.P.A.C. Lalitha, as the venom spewing angry matriarch (a stereotypical role in such films), does not have anything new to do.

Technically, the camerawork by Sanjeev Shankar is worth watching.

"Maayavi" marks the return of Mammootty to commercial cinema, but clever one-liners aren't sufficient to make it a satisfactory comeback.