Varisu Review

Introduction

Action drama Varisu is a 2023 Indian Tamil film written and co-directed by Vamshi Paidipally alongside Hari and Ashishor Solomon. Dil Raju and Sirish worked together to produce the film under the auspices of PVP Cinema and Sri Venkateswara Creations.

On January 11, 2023, during the Pongal festival, it was made public. Vijay and Rashmika Mandanna play leading roles in this film.

The film's working title was Thalapathy 66, initially revealed in September 2021. This is Vijay's 66th movie overall, and his 66th is in a key role. The book Varisu was released on June 21, 2022, the eve of Vijay's 48th birthday. With rare sessions in Visakhapatnam, Ballari, and Ladakh, the movie was filmed primarily in Chennai and Hyderabad. Critics gave the film a variety of ratings when it was released.

Cast and Crew

Director:

Vamshi Paidipally

Storyline & Screenplay:

Vamshi Paidipally
Hari
Ashishor Solomon

Dialogues:

Vivek

Producer:

Dil Raju
Shirish

Production:

PVP Cinemas
Sri Venkateswara Creations

Cast:

Vijay
Rashmika Mandanna
Shaam
Prabhu
R. Sarathkumar
Jayasudha
Srikanth
Prakash Raj
Yogi Babu
Sangeetha
Ganesh Venkatraman
Samyuktha
Sanjana Tiwari
Advaith Vinod
Harshitha Karthik
Mime Gopi
Pondy Ravi
Nandini Rai
Sriman
Suman
Sathish
S.J. Suryah
Bharath Reddy
Jani Master

Language:

Tamil

Budget:

200 - 280 crores

Running time:

167 minutes

OTT Platform:

Amazon Prime Video, Sun NXT

Box Office Collection

The movie made 20.15 crores in Tamil Nadu on its opening day, 31.47 crores in other Indian states, and 47.5 crores internationally. The family film made a total of 178.80 crores net (including Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi), equal to 210.98 crores gross, in India despite receiving mixed reviews. The film grossed an amazing 90 crores in overseas territories.

When these are added together, the final global gross is 300.98 crores.As a result, it is presently the third-highest-grossing Indian movie of 2023, the eighth-highest-grossing Tamil movie globally, and Vijay's career's best earner.

The Plot of the Movie

The protagonist of Varisu, portrayed by Thalapthy Vijay, is a pleasant man named Vijay Rajendran. It is similar to an urban famous family sitcom. Rajendran Palanisamy, the youngest son of a prominent business mogul, was kicked out of the house and disowned for choosing to build a meal delivery company rather than joining the family firm. Rajendran is given just a few more months to live after being diagnosed with advanced-stage pancreatic cancer seven years later.

Before passing away, he decides to announce his terminal illness and name one of his two older sons, Jai or Ajay, as the business's chairman. Rajendran intends to mark his 65th birthday in a big way by declaring his successor. Vijay is also invited at Sudha's request because she still views him as her son. When Vijay gets there, he discovers his house is in a mess.

The entire family is upset when Jayaprakash and Mukesh uncover Jai and Ajay's deceit at Rajendran's birthday party. The family learns that Jai is ignoring his family, including his teenage daughter Ria while having an extramarital affair with another lady named Smitha. Ajay owes Mukesh, a financier, a sizable sum of money. When he cannot repay the loan, he promises to provide the trade secrets of his firm to Jayaprakash, a competitor of his father's.

The movie also depicts Jai and Ajay's ongoing competition for the position of their father's successor. Meanwhile, Rajendran contacts Vijay after realising he cannot rely on his older sons to maintain his business empire. Vijay rejects the request, but after learning of Rajendran's fatal sickness, he accepts to take over the company.

The film also features a relationship between Vijay and Divya (portrayed by Rashmika), Aarthi's younger sister, who has loved Vijay since childhood. The two develop feelings for one another after a few instances. After this, it is depicted that out of jealousy and dismay, Jai and Ajay leave the house and team up with JP and Mukesh to remove Vijay as chairman.

Despite these obstacles, however, Vijay successfully runs the family company. Jai comes to terms with his es and makes amends with Vijay, Aarthi, and the rest of the family when Vijay saves Ria from human traffickers. When Vijay and Jai work together to prevent Ajay from selling JP shares in their firm, they force him to acknowledge his mistakes.

Varisu Review

Rating:

6/10

Varisu Review Based on Critics

Varisu, Vijay's most recent box office success, combines the elements that Tamil film has exploited for many years and adds a new dimension, a brotherly feeling. Varisu is like a bucket of wafers that have been through several rounds of flavoured spices since it has so much information on a family with various issues among its members.

In his most recent movies, Vijay was seen experimenting with the genres, Bigil was a sports drama, and Beast was about individuals trapped in a mall. However, with Varisu, Vijay returns to a formula that has previously produced successful results for him: the family. A family's narrative is told in Varisu.

They are pretty wealthy indeed. One of the most opulent homes you've ever seen in Tamil cinema is the one they live in, which we first glimpse a few minutes into the movie. The people there do business and exchange money in crores. Rajendran, played by Sarathkumar, a business conglomerate's dominating and competitive father, is at its helm.

Jayasudha, who plays his wife, Sudha, is a patient mother and guardian of the peace in the home. She wears stunning saris, makes everyone's meals, bemoans the magnificence of a family, and frets incessantly. Their eldest son, Jay, is a philanderer, a bitter loser, and an ineffective businessman. His wife is a perpetually long-faced, long-suffering loner.

They have a rebellious 16-year-old daughter who smokes in the yard and leaves butts behind that seemingly no one notices or smells. Living in a big house has its drawbacks. Ajay, the middle child, is a clueless businessman who frequently falls prey to nefarious corporate influences. The fugitive son, Vijay, has to return and restore order to this chaotic household, which he accomplishes.

Vamshi Paidipally's Varisu has the advantage of not attempting to be original, different, or inventive. Tamil cinema has been churning out this ten-for-ten formula movie for years and years. In typical Telugu film style, the set is constantly crowded with many individuals.

Prabhu plays the sweet family doctor, Yogi Babu plays the "kitchen uncle," former Rajinikanth villain Suman plays some business partner, and Sriman, VTV Ganesh, Sathish, and even SJ Suryah make a cameo for good measure. Prakash Raj plays a timid villain. Ganesh Venkatraman plays a loser banker.

Varisu, however, has weak emotional beats for the first half, mainly focusing on plodding, TV serial-like sequences; the mother-son connection feels flimsy, and the brothers' struggle to take over a multi-crore firm seems insignificant. A love triangle with Rashmika looks to be going nowhere, and some mediocre comedic relief from Yogi Babu does not help the situation.

The pattern has its rhythms, and each time the predictability fever is ready to strike, there is something to give us an injection of the booster. For instance, Varisu bursts into song and dance whenever we encounter a painful void from this stupid family's meaningless behaviours. It would be best if you did not blame me for leaving Rashmika Mandanna was out of the conversation until the song and dance exercise; that was completely the fault of the authors, Paidipally, Hari, Ashishor Solomon, and Vivek.

In the movie, Rashmika dances passionately. She occasionally has a more commanding screen presence than Vijay himself. The only time Varisu gains traction is in the second half. A character's choice has an effect because whenever Vijay enters his well-known cutesy-fun zone, Varisu transforms into a completely different vibe.

There are several instances in the second half where Vijay reverts to having fun and being the hero we loved a few decades ago before he became overly socially aware in his roles, particularly during his talks with his siblings and Prakash Raj's group. That's what sticks in your memory with Varisu, despite its staid narrative and sweet, emotional scenes, according to filmmaker Vamshi Paidipally.

Like other hero films, Varisu relies on Vijay to portray the hero who can solve any domestic issue. As a result, there is a track about someone being abducted and Vijay rescuing the day, which may have been cut to shorten the lengthy runtime. Scriptwriters need to pay more attention to making things interesting and take shortcuts, like depending exclusively on the lead actor charming his way in, allowing the plot to stand tall on the heroic presence of Vijay.

Varisu conveys a message. A message that places the dysfunctional family collective above progressive personal principles. One that relegates its women to be only wives and mothers, doomed to be passive observers and victims. A woman's dignified attitude towards the kitchen as her space is celebrated in Varisu.

One word of apology dismisses a woman's entire life of isolation, lack of emotional fulfilment, and clear rejection by her spouse. It won't even acknowledge that a woman's utter lack of choice over something as fundamental as where she lives, constrained by her husband's trigger happiness and her father-in-law's cash control, is a real issue.

Its boardrooms are crowded with ignorant men. The message is unmistakable: Every family is supported by its women being silenced and erased. Every successful Varisu results from a million dead hopes and happy moments for women.

Vijay performs to the best of his ability, but again in a movie whose plot isn't strong enough to support his "mass." The real issue is that he is the only positive aspect of the movie, not the finest part of it. His dancing, deeds, and antiques are excellent but don't fit into this family drama's ideal "house." And this movie is similar to the other flower pot actress assignments Rashmika Mandanna continues to sign.

Jayasudha and R. Sarathkumar, who plays Vijay's mother, only have little to do to develop emotions in their roles as the boy's parents. Prakash Raj is ineffective as a villain; only some scenes he is in will make you fear Vijay. As Vijay's brothers, Shaam & Srikanth serve to create a dysfunctional family; none of them truly evoke any "brotherhood" feelings that would pique viewers' interest.

Karthik Palani's camerawork occasionally overcompensates with too many perspectives, jerking the scenes to enthral the audience with this castle-like home. Otherwise, the cinematography is passable, particularly in portraying Dhilip Subbarayan's masterful action choreography in the hand-fighting scenes. The editing of Praveen K. L. needs to be of more use in maintaining the appropriate pace for such a tedious and predictable plot.

Varisu Review Based on Viewers

The crowd had conflicting opinions about Varisu. The family drama greatly impressed a lot of Vijay's followers. Others thought it was a watchable movie only once. One of the spectators complimented the film, calling it a "masterpiece family entertainer," he also applauded Vijay for his acting, action, emotion, and performance. The spectator rated the film 10/10.

Another viewer who gave the film a similar rating was cheering it on. He praised the first half, calling it excellent and praising how well it drew him into the family's tale. Except for Take Off, which had excellent cinematography and music, the second part of the film was acceptable, but the final 20 to 30 minutes were mind-blowing. It is best enjoyed with your family.

Another spectator observed that the film's second half contains dharamayudham after a light-hearted and pleasant first half. It is the producers' ideal pongal delight. The film's concept is not original to Tamil cinema, but Vijay's screen presence transforms it into a compelling family drama, according to one audience member.

A line of admiration for the film was written by one of the spectators who gave it a 5/5 rating. According to him, Vamshi follows the conventional structure for a family drama narrative, making it less interesting initially but entertaining as it goes along. It also concludes on a high note with emotional value.

Although it has the general feel of a Telugu movie, Vijay distinguishes himself with his trademark heroic mass moments, slick dancing, humour, and counter lines that make it enjoyable. The comedic confrontation between Yogi Babu and Vijay went nicely. Sarathkumar and Jayasudha both gave faultless performances. The toxic brother roles can only be played by Shrikanth and Shaam. Prakash Raj's ability to play an antagonistic role is severely limited.

SJ Surya briefly appears in the second half, and his interaction with Vijay is fun. Vamshi gave each supporting actor a similar amount of screen time, but Vijay's spectacular performance earned him the highest rating. Vijay presented a promising performance for his fan base and the general public, whether through dancing, a one-liner, or an emotional sequence.

The crowd also had some unfavourable things to say about the movie. It was described as a cringe feast by one spectator. He declared that he had nothing against family drama films. But he was finding it difficult to connect with this one. An affluent family is going through family strife.

When our hero shows up, he preaches to everyone, bringing them to their senses and pointing them in the correct route. A huge home with few residents. A football stadium's worth of space goes into the lavatory. Everyone is driving high-end vehicles and discussing the stock market and billions of dollars.

Most of the audience had yet to learn what a wealthy life was like. Thus, they had trouble empathising with the story. Another said that the emotional passages failed to engage the audience and lacked the material and writing. It is a once-watchable family entertainer, but if you've watched any of Vijay's other films, you can skip it and lose nothing from the plot to the dialogue.

The film garnered much other criticism, and some viewers rated it between 1 and 5 on a scale 10.

Conclusion

Critics and fans have had varying reactions to Varisu. While some portions of the movie have received appreciation, others have received criticism. Critics praised the film's plot, performances, compelling writing, and acting. The performers' realistic portrayals of passion and depth have struck a chord with audiences, adding to the movie's allure.

There are several aspects, nevertheless, that have faced criticism. Some viewers have complained about the tempo, saying they sometimes found it sluggish and erratic. Critics have also noted how several character arcs and subplots should have been addressed, leading to loose ends and unresolved problems.

Overall, Varisu has promise thanks to its outstanding performers and engaging plot, but it lacks in certain crucial respects. While it could appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven stories, its tempo and unfinished plotlines might limit its appeal to a larger audience. Nevertheless, it continues to be a thought-provoking movie that provokes debates and highlights the acting prowess of its actors.