Vaazhai Review - Heartwarming and at the same time Heart-Wrenching

Ashwin Ram

Vaazhai is a rule drama based on true events directed by Mari Selvaraj. The film stars Kalaiyarasan and Nikhila Vimal in supporting roles apart from the leads who are two new faces. The music is composed by Santhosh Narayanan.

Premise:

A school boy who is bright in studies is sent for daily wage work during the weekends to make up for the family’s poverty. He isn’t interested in working and adamantly refuses to do so at one point, the impact of his decision forms the crux of the story.

Writing/ Direction:

Director Mari Selvaraj has placed many memorable moments throughout the film that flows naturally without following a grammar. Starting from the beautiful student-teacher equation, this particular part is sure to rekindle nostalgia and is handled in a mature manner. And this wasn’t just a random subplot, it does connect as the major motivation factor for the boy to escape work and go to school. Even the smallest of elements like the Rajini-Kamal references are carried with meticulous writing. The movie mostly revolves around a boy, his happy school life, his tough situations at home and his tiring days at work… All these portions are realistic, yet engaging at the same time. The small moments with respect to nature, relationships, etc help us to watch the film with a constant smile on the face. The oppression of the owner over his labors is carefully shown. The film is filled with plot-points that lead to the tragic ending, the best part is that they are all in a hidden state until we are made to realize why they have been placed. Not the entire role, but just the love track of Kalaiyarasan was needless. Also, despite foreshadowing the climax with various worthy dramatic stretches, it didn’t land in a hard-hitting manner, probably because the intention was to leave it subtle.

Performances:

 Such lively performances from the two new boys namely Ponvel and Raghul, they both made the film extra special by literally living their roles, importantly in all sorts of emotions. Such a sweet teacher character for Nikhila Vimal and she portrayed it very neatly by understanding the poetic sense of her portions Kalaiyarasan does well as an inspiring man in the village who had a great sum-up scene towards the end. Vital role and powerful acting by the person who played the mother of the central character.

Technicalities:

Santosh Narayanan has nailed it, such rooted and soulful songs with deep lyrics. Solid background score as well, many scenes with limited dialogues and more montages are driven so well musically. Theni Eswar has an outstanding body of work, he proves his mettle once again with top class cinematography, the shot compositions are aesthetic and not even one tacky frame despite many wide angles. Sloppy edit decisions in certain non-linear scene orders, fine work otherwise especially with some skillful insert shots.

Bottomline

A lovely representation of life which has all mixed emotions, realistic treatment with an engrossing screenplay. Barring some minor flaws, we get to travel along the characters, feel for their joyous and sorrowful situations.

Rating - 3.5/ 5