Varisu: Vijay’s lovely charm is our solace

Of course, there was a time when such films enjoyed a high box office presence in Tamil cinema. Suryavamsam, Aanandham, Nattamai and Vaanathaippola are some of the hit movies of the 90s and early 2000s. Then Tamil movies stopped making this feel-good, theatrical family entertainer. Even Vijay is a star with his well deserved melodrama.

So it’s understandable that Vijay chooses a family drama like Varisu for the Pongal festival. Not only in Vijay’s career, some of the most successful producer careers of Dil Raju (Bommarrillu, Parugu, Mr. Perfect, Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu etc.) as a producer also came from this genre.

Varisu got a lot of things right and proved naysayers wrong. One of the biggest reasons is that it taps into the audience’s preconceived notions about it. Director Vamshi Paidipally and his screenwriters Hari, Ashishor Solomon and lyricist Vivek are all concerned with changing times. They knew they couldn’t make a film with Vaanathaippola’s overly serious sensibilities.

The writers at Varisu have done a fantastic job of remaking old themes into an enjoyable film. There’s a strong sense of familiarity, but the little additions to the old setting add up to be refreshing. The narrative’s themes and structure owe a debt to its predecessors in the genre. But when we’re ready to watch a scene based on our assumptions about what’s going to happen next and think we’ve seen it played out 100 times in the past, we can be surprised.

The name of the game is self-awareness. Cinema knows that if it takes itself too seriously, the audience will turn it into an object of ridicule. Vijay walks a fine line in keeping the film’s heavy mood lighthearted. We immediately felt at ease when Vijay sang the title song of the hit Tamil series Metti Oli. It kind of tells us that the filmmakers had the vision and they had the talent and the knowledge to make it happen.

Even the blocking of scenes is smooth. Take the case of Vijay and Yogi Babu’s Kicha sitting down to watch a drama unfold at the family dinner table. Vijay sat on the couch and Kicha sat on the floor. When they started talking, Vijay got off the couch and sat next to Kicha. It shows that although they are separated by their personal social status, they are united by their friendship. The connection between the two resonated with us, and we enjoyed it when Kicha mocked Vijay again and again, as this invisible social barrier was removed. Now, it’s just two friends joking around.

latest comment: cutie | burning trial | Voltevilaya | Vera Simha Reddy | Tunivo | M3GAN

There’s also a shot of Vijay climbing down the stairs in an emotional scene. Before we see Vijay, what we see is his shadow, as if it is always guarding the family like a guardian angel. The board scene where Vijay is about to be fired from the company is an obvious rehash of the board scene Aru Arjunblockbuster ala waikuntapramuluIn that scene, Bantus disrupt the villain’s game by staging a coup d’etat and humorously dancing to a popular song from the film starring the Aru Arjun family cast. In the film’s most important moments, Vijay generously cites his past blockbusters to prevent a similar coup.

Vijay elevates the whole movie with his sheer charisma. He unapologetically performed one after another for the gallery. He keeps reminding us why we love watching him. We love his performances best when he’s doing comedy. Not when it comes to punchlines or stunts. We adore him as he performs smooth dance moves and preaches accepted morals to us. It’s not the well-known ballad “Ranjithame” that steals the show, but the seriously underrated duet “Jimikki Ponnu”. The production of this song and the energetic and fluid performances of Vijay and Rashmika Mandanna leave us wanting more.