Vaa Vaathiyaar Review: A Film That Rests Solely On Karthi's Performance

When director Nalan Kumarasamy burst onto the Tamil cinema scene in 2013 with his unexpected dark comedy Soodhu Kavvum, everyone lauded him for his brilliant screenplay and the crazy premise that made it a must-watch. Post a break of six years, the 45-year-old director steps back into the shoes of director for Vaa Vaathiyaar starring Karthi, Kirthi Shetty, Sathyaraj and Rajkiran among others.

Vaa Vaathiyaar centres around Ramaswamy aka Ramu (Karthi), a corrupt police officer who's mentored by his grandfather (Rajkiran), a staunch Vaathiyaar MG Ramachandran (MGR) fan. Ramu was born at the exact time of the demise of TN CM MGR in 1987 and even has a mole on the sole of his foot identical to him.

As Ramu grows up, his grandfather drills into his head the values of Vaathiyaar and when Ramu becomes a successful cop, he truly believes that it's all thanks to this. Along the way, unfortunately, Ramu's idolisation of MGR twists into admiration for the Tamil star's arch enemy on screen - Nambiar - and Ramu begins to follow a new path becoming a highly corrupt police officer.

His accidental meeting with business magnate Periyasamy (Sathyaraj), during the course of his work, pushes him into a quagmire of politics, deceit, etc. But what does the title have to do with the film's main character given he is nothing like MGR? We find out after the demise of an important character in Ramu's life.

Director Nalan Kumarasamy gives the audience a film that's a genre blend that leans into action and comedy with a distinct nod to classic Tamil cinema sensibilities, especially MGR films and his characters. His core concept for the film centres on legacy and identity - how a character (Raju), who's raised to emulate a cultural icon, (MGR) grapples with his own flaws and identity and how this character embodies both good and evil in equal measure.

Can MGR and Nambiar be moulded into one person and can he convincingly switch characters thanks to emotional dilemmas, societal pressures and the greater good as a whole? This is what the director tries to explore and present in Ramu making the cop fun and quirky with a questionable moral compass.

However, the movie doesn't build on this and ends up being a run-of-the-mill masala flick with a predictable storyline. The film fails to pack a punch (especially in the second half) that one expects from a Nalan Kumarasamy film and is not the distinctive superhero dark comedy it could or should have been.

Karthi's portrayal of Ramu, a blend of MGR and Nambiar, is a delight to watch on screen thanks to his effortless acting chops when it comes to comedy. He effectively carries the narrative on his shoulders, embracing the MGR-inspired avatar of his character. The talented actor brings a freshness to the spirit and energy associated with the cinematic legacy of Vaathiyaar, clearly avoiding imitation. He keeps the audiences engaged even in scenes that fall flat and this is probably the highlight of the film.

As for the other quirky character in the film - Wu, played by Krithi Shetty, the role itself has limited scope. Krithi Shetty is competent and fitting for her narrative function but has less visibility and impact compared to Ramu obviously. Her character simply aims to support the emotional and thematic context of the film.

We have seen Sathyaraj play the rich business magnate in numerous Tamil films and in Vaa Vaathiyaar, the seasoned actor adds the required gravitas to the character of Periyasamy. Meanwhile, other supporting artists like Rajkiran and Karunakaran contribute to the story arc and suitably aid Ramu's transformation.

Vaa Vaathiyaar has numerous short tracks that bring out the connection between the modern day and the MGR period. Music director Santhosh Narayan has been effective in stylising and connecting the music between these two eras but the frequent songs disrupt the flow of the film and seem unnecessary as well.

Nalan Kumarasamy's writing is what has failed the film and his attempt to combine the MGR-Nambiar personalities and psychology, doesn't succeed. The movie becomes a star-driven masala film as compared to his earlier works where we saw layered motivations in the main characters that were meshed beautifully through the writing. Vaa Vaathiyaar is a film that rests solely on Karthi's performance instead of building up on Nalan Kumarasamy's masterful screenplay and that's a letdown.