'Varisu' review: Vijay anchors moving family drama

Vijay started climbing up the success ladder with films that appealed to family audiences, like Poove Unakaga, Thullatha Manamum Thullum, and Kadhalukku Mariyadhai. Obviously, as the market demanded, he shifted gears and started doing high-octane action flicks such as Ghilli.

Even then, he made it a piunt to keep the family audience loyal, especially children and women. Now, with Varisu, the star is back to the basics.

Rajendran (Sarathkumar) is a multi-millionaire who always wants to succeed in his business and keeps his two sons (Shaam and Srikanth) as mere puppets. However, his third son Vijay (Vijay) wants to be independent and moves out of the family, as he doesn’t want to follow his father’s line of thought.

When Rajendran falls ill, Vijay comes back and sorts out his family and business issues.

Biggest strength

Varisu’s biggest strength is Vijay who excels in action episodes, songs, and humour.  Needless to say, he has aced the comedy scenes, even making the tried-and-tested moments enjoyable. Vijay also delivers big – perhaps after a long time – in emotional scenes, especially in the climax and the sequences with his mother,  played superbly by Jayasudha.

Also read | ‘Thunivu’ review: Ajith owns the character in bank heist story

The film’s ensemble cast, including Sarathkumar, Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Shaam and Srikanth, have done a great job. A surprise cameo of SJ Suryah is also sure to excite fans.

On the downside, the film’s thread is quite similar to a blockbuster family entertainer (featuring MGR) and a clutch of recently released Telugu films. As far as the storyline is considered, the story is predictable, without any surprising twists and turns.

Thaman has given his best for Varisu, be it the songs and background score, while Karthik Palani’s cinematography is a big plus. Poor visual effects and extended duration are sore points.

Varisu is an enjoyable family entertainer, anchored brilliantly by Vijay.  Director Vamshi Paidipally has explored a formulaic script with ample mass moments and moving emotional elements.