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Anitha, Sri Venkateswara Creations, PVP Cinema, Dil Raju Productions and Goldmines Telefilms Pvt. Ltd.’s Varisu (dubbed from the Tamil film of the same name) is a family drama.
Rajendran (R. Sarathkumar) lives with his wife (Jayasudha) and three sons, two of who are married. Vijay (Vijay Thalapathy) is the youngest son who is thrown out of the home by the father one day when he refuses to join the family business. The other two brothers, Jay (Srikanth) and Ajay (Shaam), are actually thrilled with their father’s decision because it means that they stand a better chance to bequeath the wealth and property of their father’s empire. Jay is married to Aarthi (Sangeetha Krish), and they have a daughter, Ria. Ajay and his wife (Samyuktha Shanmughanathan) have two children.
Vijay has a start-up company which is doing well. Years later, Vijay returns home at his mother’s insistence, for a family function. But rather than celebratory, the function turns out to be a nightmare as skeletons come tumbling out of the cupboards of Jay and Ajay. Even while Vijay sets out to return to his home, he gets to know something which prompts him to stay back with his family. How Vijay, considered an ‘outsider’, sets matters right for the family forms the crux of the story.
Vamshi Paidipally, Hari and Ahishor Solomon have written a story of the kind which used to be in vogue in the 1980s and 1990s. The incidents in the family drama are all of the kind one has seen in films of a bygone era. The trio’s screenplay is slow-paced as well as predictable. Nothing, therefore, comes as a shocker. The resolution also does not warm the cockles of the heart because it seems to be too hurried. Even when matters have been resolved, the audience do not feel satisfied because they are not convinced that the errant brothers have reformed in the true sense of the term. The change of heart of Jay and Ajay is supposed to be for good but the viewers get the feeling that they are still very opportunistic and could betray the family for their selfish motives because their reformation does not seem genuine. This, besides the hackneyed story and screenplay, is the biggest drawback of the script. The romantic track of Vijay and Divya (Rashmika Mandana) is weak. Emotions fail to touch the heart at most of the places. Dialogues are good at places.
Vijay Thalapathy does well as Vijay Rajendran, but he often moves out of character and resorts to antics to evoke laughter. While this may go down well with his fans in Tamil Nadu because of his superstardom, it may not be liked by the Hindi-speaking audience. Rashmika Mandana looks pretty but has an almost inconsequential role. Of course, she has acted and danced well. R. Sarathkumar lends dignity to his character (Rajendran) with a solid performance. Jayasudha is supremely restrained as Rajendran’s understanding wife. Prakash Raj gets limited scope as Jaya Prakash (JP) but he impresses, nevertheless. Srikanth is fair in the role of Jay Rajendran. Shaam leaves a fine mark as Ajay Rajendran. Sangeetha Krish makes her presence felt as Aarthi with a very fine performance. Samyuktha Shanmughanathan is okay as Ajay’s wife. Ganesh Venkatraman is impressive in the role of businessman Mukesh. Prabhu delivers a heartfelt performance as the family doctor and true friend and well-wisher of the Rajendrans. S.J. Suryah has his moments in a brief appearance as businessman Aditya Mittal. Nandini Rai is effective. Sanjana is okay as Ria. Harshitha and Advaith are fair as Ajay’s kids. Others are adequate.
Vamshi Paidipally’s direction is fairly nice but his choice and co-writing leave something to be desired. Thaman S.’s music is quite nice but it is unlikely that the Hindi songs will gain too much popularity. Lyrics (Vaibhav Joshi, Raqeeb Alam and Nishant Singh) are okay. Song picturisations (by Raju Sundaram, Shobi and Jani) are very energetic and eye-filling. Action scenes have been well choreographed by Ram-Laxman, Peter Hein and Dilip Subbarayan. Karthik Palani’s cinematography is fantastic. Production designing (by Sunil Babu and Vaishnavi Reddy) is wonderful. Production values are grand. Praveen K.L.’s editing is suitably sharp. Dubbing is fantastic.
On the whole, Varisu is an ordinary fare and will do very ordinary business at the turnstiles because it offers nothing new or fresh.
Released on 13-1-’23 at Maratha Mandir (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru AA Films. Publicity: good. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was on the lower side at most of the places.