Movie: Vaarasudu
Rating: 2.25/5
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations
Cast: Vijay, Rashmika Mandanna, Sarath Kumar, Srikanth, Shaam, Sangitha, Yogi Babu,Prakash Raj, Nandini Rai, Khushbu, and others
Story, Screenplay: VamshiPaidipally, Hari andAhishor Solomon
Dialogues: Srinivas Chakravarthy
Music: Thaman S
Cinematography: KarthikPalani
Editing: Praveen KL
Production Designer: Sunil Babu and Vaishnavi Reddy
Fights: Ram-Laxman, Peter Hein, DilipSubbarayan
Producers: Raju, Sirish
Direction: VamshiPaidipally
Release Date: Jan 14, 2023
There was a lot of uproar about how "Vaarasudu" dared to occupy all theaters despite the Telugu biggies releasing for Sankranthi festival. This backlash caused producer Dil Raju to delay the release of the Telugu version. So, four days after the Tamil version's debut, the Telugu version has finally arrived in theatres.
Let’s find out its merits and demerits.
Story:
Rajendra (Sarath Kumar) is the head of a massive business empire. He has three sons, Jai (Srikanth), Ajay (Shaam), and Vijay (Vijay). As a means of selecting the best heir apparent, Rajendra has set his own sons against one another.
Vijay doesn't agree with his father's methods, so he leaves the house. He follows his own path in life and falls in love with a girl (Rashmika).
Rajendra finally gets to know his sons for who they really are when he learns that his terminal illness will not give him many days to live. When he chooses Vijay to succeed him, his two other brothers turn on him. Is Vijay capable of establishing his legitimacy as an heir?
Artistes’ Performances:
For a change, Vijay plays the role in subdued way, giving the story more space. His maturity in emotional scenes is commendable. Elevations of heroism and fights are present, but it is his subtle acting that stands out. He also performs comedy with Yogi Babu and has some hilarious moments in a corporate boardroom.
Sarath Kumar as the family patriarch is ideal. Jayasudha steals the show as a mother once again. As Vijay's brothers, Srikanth and Shaam have performed well.
Prakash Raj portrays the stereotypical corporate villain. Rashmika's only role is to appear in songs and a few sequences.
Technical Excellence:
Thaman's music is good. "Ranjithame" and "Thalapathy" stand out among his songs. The "Vaa Thalaivaa" song is also used effectively as background music during key sequences.
Karthik Palani's camerawork and production design are both excellent.
The sets are magnificent. Every frame of the film exudes grandeur. Dialogues in certain places are impactful.
Highlights:
Vijay’s subdued performance
The emotions and comedy
Grand rich visuals
Drawback:
Familiar story and screenplay
Dejavu sequences
Inexcusable lengthy runtime
Analysis
"Vaarasudu," starring Thalapathy Vijay, is the dubbed version of “Varisu”. Though directed and produced by Telugu filmmakers (Vamshi Paidipally and Dil Raju, respectively), the film is primarily aimed at Tamil audiences. Vijay might have thought it would be refreshing to act in a family drama after recently appearing in films with larger-than-life settings.
However, this story written by VamshiPaidipally, Hari, and Ahishor Solomon provides a familiar feeling for Telugu audiences. Because we've seen a plethora of similar films. It appears to be a remixed version of a number of Telugu films, including "Attarintiki Daaredi", "Agnyaathavaasi", "Seethamma Vaaktilo Sirimalle Chettu" and "Ala Vaikunthapurramllo". Such stories have been attempted numerous times by our top stars, including Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, and Allu Arjun. So it appears to be a very familiar setup for a Telugu audience.
Despite its familiarity, "Vaarasudu" cannot be dismissed casually. Vamshi Paidipally's handling of emotional sequences and actor Vijay's performance both succeed in keeping our attention in many places. While film provides dejavu feeling, it has nice moments as well.
Vijay's attempts to reintegrate his brothers into their family, as well as his scenes with Sarath Kumar, will warm your heart. The second half contains an equal amount of mass elements and comedy. The boardroom comedy is superb.
Vijay's fantastic form, comedy timing, and family emotions are all pluses. Another plus is the rich visuals. The climax is also handled well, and it declares a message that we all have one family, and no matter how imperfect it is, we must be united.
However, the film suffers not only from a routine story and screenplay, but also from a weak villain (Prakash Raj's character is ineffective) and a poor romantic track. More importantly, the film's pace is excruciatingly slow, and it runs for nearly three hours. The film's main antagonist is the editor.
The sequences between mother and son played by Jayasudha and Vijay are not that effective.
Overall, "Vaarasudu" is a Tamil adaptation of a number of popular Telugu family dramas. It looks like a lavishly shot TV show at times. It does, however, make a better watch for this festival season, especially after a heavy dose of action films earlier this week.
Bottom Line: Beaten but bearable
