Varisu Movie Review: Sigh, if only Thalapathy Vijay films love their screenplays as much they love their leading man... Alas, the world is a bitter place and you don't always get what you want. You want to watch Thalapathy Vijay have a jolly good time on screen, and that gives you jolly good time too? Then Varisu could be a fun movie for you. Otherwise Vamshi Paidipally's family entertainer is simply an outdated saga that is way too much in love with its hero. Ajith Kumar and Thalapathy Vijay Fans Tear Posters of Varisu and Thunivu As They Gather Outside a Movie Theatre in Chennai.

Rajendran (R Sarathkumar) is a leading businessman who wins his deals guiding his two elder sons (Srikanth and Shaam). They live in their stunningly lavish mansion with their respective spouses, kids and a domestic help, played by Yogi Babu.

Rajendran, however, doesn't speak much of his younger son Vijay (Thalapathy) who has left home seven years back wanting to movie out of his father's obstinate shadow and make his own name as an entrepreneur. Due to certain circumstances and an impending family function, Vijay is coaxed to return home, and after a couple of other developments, suddenly sees himself being the 'varisu' (heir) of his father's business, protecting it from conniving rivals, played by Prakash Raj and Ganesh Venkataraman.

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Varisu packages itself as a family drama with loads of masala, though in truth, the whole family drama becomes a wafer-thin background in this hero-worship vehicle for Mr Vijay, where the makers didn't even bother to name his character anything otherwise. Look, I admit there is something mesmerising when Vijay is on screen and in his elements. Watching him rock the screen with his comic antics, cool swagger and energetic (and occasionally repetitive) dance moves ("Ranjithame" is such a treat when it arrives late with its colourful set design and peppy beats) does make for some fun moments. But isn't it time for the makers to give him a film that also gets elevated in the process? Sadly, Varisu is nothing like that. It feels mostly like a rehash of old entertainers, a couple of them directed by Vamshi himself, namely Brindavanam and Maharshi.

The first half is very cumbersome; the second half with Vijay playing the corporate game, fares slightly better but has nothing innovative to offer. The whole family drama is just old wine poured into a Thalapathy bottle, while remaining regressive in its ideals. I was surprised for a moment when Vijay tells his sister-in-law that it is okay to lead a lonely existence than to live a troubled life with your spouse, and nearly lauded the film for being progressive there. Unfortunately, that illusion got shattered a few scenes later, when the movie tries to stick to 'family comes before all' rule, disregarding how suffocating and toxic it can be, where women should instantly forgive their philandering partners so that families can stay together, and men should worship their bossy fathers, no matter what.

In such a film, do you think any of the female characters, including Rashmika Mandanna's female lead, get any sort of depth? Nope. The mother remains sentimentally droll, one of the daughters-in-law gets the infidelity schtick, the other is bereft of any dialogues and instead referred to as a 'night dress'. A teenage niece is shown smoking and insolent which is a cue that something bad is going to happen to her which requires the hero's intervention. As for Rashmika, well, she looks good dancing in those songs in a film where the viewers are more mesmerised by the hero's moves.

Not that the men, apart from Thalapathy, fare any better in terms of writing. They are merely salvaged by their screentime and how they matter to the plot, which means allowing the opportunity for the hero to make things right. This includes even for veterans like Sarathkumar, Prabhu and Prakash Raj. I loved the funny combo scenes of Vijay and Yogi Babu, and their chemistry was far better than what Vijay shares with Rashmika. Yogi Babu also gets forgotten by the movie most of the time, and then being dragged in back when Varisu needs to give its hero a respite from carrying the film all alone. Also, why is Sathish in the movie?

Coming to Thalapathy, yes, Varisu, like most other Vijay movies in recent times, is worth watching if you are totally enamoured by him, by what he says and what he does. Even then the lagging screenplay and the absolutely predictable screenplay might prove to be challenging for you. The latter is, of course, expected when you insist on your protagonist being over-powerful and completely infallible. In such cases, unless you go for an imaginative action choreography (see RRR), even the fight scenes fall flat and can't distract you from seeing some very obvious use of green-screens. Beast Movie Review: Thalapathy Vijay Is in Absolutely Fine Knick in Nelson’s Hostage Thriller That Refuses To Take Itself Seriously.

Varisu does try to play the meta card and reveal a self-aware tone, but even that self-awareness is used to venerate the hero, rather than the film throwing playful winks at the audience. The most appalling is Varisu's use of cancer as a plot element. One of the principal characters is shown suffering from pancreatic cancer, and the absurdity here is that despite having tonnes of money and a doctor as a friend, the cancer wasn't detected till it reach the fourth stage and what's more, the person doesn't show any signs of the disease till the plot conveniently wants them to show. As someone who lost his family member to the very same disease just a year back, I can only shake my head in disbelief and wonder at what cringe levels filmmakers will go to squeeze emotions from the viewers.

Final Thoughts

Near the interval, a loud background chant for a mass Thalapathy scene goes something like this 'Thalapathy has entered the halls, so if you don't like it, you better be out'. No, I don't mind Thalapathy entering the halls and doing his onscreen magic, but kindly sprinkle some of that magic in the writing and making, and especially the editing, and make the movies work better in the process. Thalapathy entertains for sure, Varisu, not so much!

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 11, 2023 01:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).