Movie: Vaarasudu (Varisu)
Genre: Family Drama
Cast: Vijay, Rashmika Mandanna, Srikanth, Shaam, Sarath Kumar, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha and Others
Director: Vamsi Paidipally
Produced By: Raju, Shirish, Pearl V Potluri and Param V Potluri
Music: S. Thaman
Cinematography: Karthik Palani
Runtime: 170 Minutes (2hrs 50mins)
Story
Rajendra (Sarath Kumar) is a successful business tycoon. He along with his sons Jay (Srikanth) and Ajay (Shaam) runs his business. He also has another son Vijay(Vijay), but he doesn't talk about him as they both had a clash and Vijay left the house 7 years ago. Rajendra wants to hand over his business to one of his sons but deciding on the best heir. During the process, he is diagnosed with advanced-stage pancreatic cancer. He doesn't tell to anyone and accepts his wife's wish to celebrate their 60th marriage anniversary. Vijay returns for the occasion and on the day of the occasion, Rajendra comes to know the true colors of Jay and Ajay and also the capability of Vijay. He decides to make Vijay the CEO of his business and announces him as the heir. How will Vijay handle this? Will he set right his family? What will this lead to? This forms the rest of the story.
Artiste Performances
Vijay is amazing in the role. His looks, and performance are different from his previous flicks and he impresses with his subtle performance, especially during the emotional sequences. He carries the whole movie on his shoulders.
Sarathkumar does a great job in the role of Rajendra. He shows his seniority throughout his role, especially during emotional scenes. Jayasudha does an excellent job in the mother's role. She gives a heart-touching performance.
Rashmika as the female lead looks cute but has nothing much to do on screen. She is limited to songs.
Prakash Raj as the antagonist is good. Ganesh venkatraman too does a fine job. Srikanth and Shaam in the role of brothers have done well. Yogi Babu evokes a few laughs.
S J Surya in his cameo does well and elevates Vijay's character in a fan-pleasing way. The rest of the cast are OK.
Plus Points
Vijay's Performances
Emotional Strenght
Fight Scenes
Mother - Son Thread
Father Sentiment
CEO Voting episode
Songs and BGM
Visuals
Production Values
Drawbacks (Which I Felt)
Familiar sequences
Slow narration
Dull moments
Runtime
Analysis
The movie starts off by establishing Rajendra's Empire and his two sons. Then the story shifts to showing Vijay's life. His introduction is beautifully shot.
Once Vijay's character is introduced, the director establishes the conflict between Vijay and his father and drives the movie in an emotional way. Mother-son thread is one of the major highlights of the movie. Vijay and Jayasudha arrest the audience to the screens with their performance.
The proceedings move towards showing the grey side of Jay and Ajay. The movie runs at a slow pace with no high moments for most of the first half. Even the love track is not written properly. Rashmika is decent in her role but she is limited to songs and very few scenes. Vijay takes the lead and runs the show with his comedy and act.
The movie resembles many recent south Indian movies like Maharshi, Agnyathavaasi, and Ala Vaikuntapuramloo. Though the scenes look familiar and proceedings are predictable, it is watchable because of Vijay, BGM, and Strong emotions.
The first fight sequence comes at the pre-interval point making it a key sequence for the second half. Interval Block is excellently done with Vijay taking over the business as the heir, setting the stage for the corporate face-off between the brothers and setting his family right.
The Second half starts with Rajendra's family falling apart. The whole second half focuses on setting things right with Rajendra's family and business.
The second half is entertaining and racy compared to the first half. Vamsi adds some fan moments and elevations that will engage the audience.
There is a CEO Voting scene which is one of the highlights. Vijay's mannerisms, swag, and style are a treat to watch in this sequence. It is stylish and elevates Vijay's character in a terrific way. Another scene at the Tender office too is fan-pleasing and Vijay's character elevation is awesome.
Vijay opening the mines, working and visiting laborers to know their day-to-day problems are shown in a massy way. An episode of Vijay saving his niece is racy and fan-pleasing. The episode ends with an excellent emotional sequence shown in a heart-touching way.
Ranjithame song is an eye feast. Vijay's energy, Rashmika's glamour, and choreography make this song a celebration in theatres. Audiences and especially the fans will enjoy it to the fullest.
The climax of the movie feels regular yet enjoyable. Vijay's mannerisms worked big time in this episode. After the action episode, the movie ends with a heartwarming scene and a message which will surely leave the audience with wet eyes.
Production values are a major plus to the movie. They look grand. The camerawork is top-notch. Editing could have been way better as the runtime is long which makes the movie boring at times.
Songs and BGM by Thaman need a special mention. Every song it shot beautifully on screen and the dance number in the Pre Interval scene is foot-tapping. BGM is energetic and elevates every scene. Especially during a few crucial sequences, Thaman has done an amazing job with BGM.
Dialogues are another strength. Dialogues in a few key scenes are hard-hitting and impactful. Vamsi Paidipally did a fantastic job of driving the emotions and family sentiments with this subject but could have taken care of narration and screenplay. He succeeds in giving a good family drama experience.
(MY) Final Word
Unlike Vijay's previous outings, Vaarasudu focuses on strong family drama. Though the setup of the movie is a corporate face-off, the driving force is family emotions. Vamsi Paidipally neatly establishes all the conflicts and drives through the emotions. But he takes his time to narrate it which makes the proceedings a bit dull. All the flaws are overshadowed by Vijay's subdued performance, fight scenes, elevations, and emotional thread between father mother, and son. On a Whole, Vaarasudu ends up as a Good family entertainer in Vijay's style.
Bottom-line: Vaarasudu (Varisu) - Slow yet a Heart-Warming Family Drama
Note: This is my take on the movie. That is why I am not rating the movie. I respect each and every movie. Making people read my review and influencing them to form an impression of a movie before watching the movie is never my intention. I am a Movie lover too. This is just to express my view on the movie. 😊
Review by a Movie Lover