Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest filmmakers in India, said in an interview that the Indian audience is not mature enough to digest the intricacies of a film. Thirty-one years after his death, a lot of things have changed on the film front, but the Indian audience has remained inert. We have seen a surge in digital platforms (OTT) in the last decade. The number of OTT users in India is not less. Unfortunately, no matter how much they are exposed to global cinema, deep down somewhere, the audience still believes commercial cinema runs on three elements: superstars, action, and item songs, though not always in the same order. Thus, largely if we look into commercial Indian cinema, we would find most of them to be below-average films yet commercially successful.
The recent film of Telegu superstar Thalapathy Vijay, “Varisu,” is yet another example of a film with an almost non-existent storyline, a lot of unnecessary drama and actions, and a shameless display of false masculinity. The story revolves around Vijay (Thalapathy Vijay), the youngest of three brothers, including Jay (Srikanth Meka) and Ajay (Shaam). They are the sons of an industrial tycoon named Rajendran (R. Sarathkumar). Vijay wanted to be a self-made man without exploiting his father’s power and resources. His attitude infuriated his father, thus, was forced to leave his home. At the beginning of the film, we see a content Vijay roaming around Indian states with his camera, laughing and making friends all over. Later, he launched a food delivery app that would help those who aren’t affluent. In the turn of events, Vijay had to return home, take his place as his father’s heir, and bring the shattered family back together. This is the gist of what you had to watch patiently for two hours and forty-nine minutes. However, let’s quickly go through the characters in the film.
Spoilers Ahead
R. Sarathkumar As Rajendran
Rajendran is an industrial tycoon but a miserable man. He, like any other “ideal man” of patriarchal society, behaves like he is omnipotent in his family. He dominates his wife; she needs to ask permission from him before planning anything. He sends his youngest son away and proudly says he has no information about whether his son is alive or dead. Between his two elder sons, he has set an unsettling tone of competition and negativity. He needs to be constantly pleased; thus, both brothers hate each other’s gut.
Srikanth Mehta As Jay
The eldest son, Jay, had no idea and was not interested in the business. Instead of focusing on imported deals and projects, he was interested in women. He was married and had a teenage daughter, but that did not stop him from having an extramarital affair. When his wife finds out about his mistress at a family event, she slaps him hard in front of everyone, and he slaps her back—summing up the entirety of his conjugal life. However, he was least bothered that his wife left him along with their daughter and was planning to file for a divorce. His paternal instincts were mostly absent unless his daughter was rescued by Vijay, and she went up to hug him. The moral meter of Srikanth is faulty at its best.
Shaam As Ajay
The less you speak about this man, the better. He is unapologetically selfish and money-minded. He can share classified information about his father’s firm in a heartbeat if he is in some trouble. He is both stupid and rigid at the same time. He is immensely driven by greed. However, his relationship with his wife seemed to be weird, as we only heard her call him “baby” once at dinner, and the rest of the time, she was following her husband in and out of his father’s house.
Vijay As Thalapathy Vijay
If you are still unsure about hero-worshiping in Indian films (even after watching “Pathan”), you should watch this movie. Vijay is apparently a man of virtue. He wants to flourish his business based on ideology, not crazy-driven motives. He loves his mother and gives up his dreams to save his father’s reputation and firm. He also fights like a trained fighter, remaining unaffected even after taking down multiple men. He cares about his niece and his brothers too. But, among all these praise-worthy qualities, we cannot unsee how misogynist he is. He supported his sister-in-law in her decision to file for divorce against his brother only when he learned that her sister was really pretty. However, we learn that Vijay’s sister-in-law’s sibling was interested in him from the very beginning. But, back in the day, the sister had braces and wasn’t stylish or “fashionable” enough for society. However, in the present day, when she perfectly fits into society’s standard of beauty, Vijay is head over heels for her.
Prakash Raj As Jayaprakash
A villain who seems too weak to be termed such. He tries to be manipulative and pretends be dangerous, but Vijay is always a step ahead of him, which at times feels like he already knew Vijay would overshadow him, so he doesn’t even try.
Yogi Babu As Kicha
Kicha, the housekeeper, was supposed to provide comic relief in the film. However, there was nothing grave in the film; thus, his character was futile to expect a few quirky comments, which you might just ignore.
Jayasudha As Sudha
The wife of Rajedran, “the silent woman,” is basically a reflection of what Indian society wants wives to be like. She silently suffers every wrong decision of her husband and sons. She is mistreated and lied to, but she holds her ground firmly, as a family is the “most important” part of life. She tirelessly works for everyone without anyone taking care of her, but she has no complaints. It is unbelievable that, in the 21st century, we still enjoy watching voiceless mothers.
Sangeetha As Aarthi
The wife of Jay, who too suffers in the miserable family, just to project her as someone from the later generation of Sudha, slaps her husband and decides to file for divorce. But, everything goes down in vain right after she understands how strong her ties are with her “husband’s family,” which, by the way, is now her “forever family”. Do you think it is possible to bring down women anymore? Wait till you know about her sister.
Rashmika Mandanna As Divya
It appeared that Rashmika was in the film just to dance, for she is an amazing dancer. Her character initially wore braces and was rejected by Vijay. She confesses that she is still interested in Vijay (surely, “self-respect” is an alien term for her). Although she supports and convinces her sister Aarthi to file for divorce, she soon changes her mind as soon as Vijay feeds them “family sentiments.”
The more you watch the film, from the character design to the costume designs to the lyrics and the entire presentation, you will have to keep every progressive thought at bay. The “actions” in the film are nothing different from what we grew up watching in a Telegu film. The dialogues are cliched as well. In a nutshell, you just see amalgamations of sequences from terrible action dramas that you watched growing up before you learned to appreciate a good “action film.”
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