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Friday, September 13, 2024
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TAMIL VAI RAJA VAI
EDITOR'S PICK
'Vai
Raja Vai' - good effort gone awry (IANS Tamil Movie Review)
Rating:
**
In 'Vai Raja Vai', the lead actors are named after themselves. Gautham Karthik
is Karthik, Priya Anand is Priya and Sathish is Sathish. We don't exactly
understand why, but maybe Aishwarya felt it's a lot easier to connect with the
characters if their names are already known to us. It does work to an extent and
these are also the most common middle class names in Tamil cinema.
Karthik is born with the power to foresee immediate events in his life. He comes
out of his mother's womb with a smile and it takes him two months to cry for the
first time. His father, quite naturally excited at seeing his son cry, lifts him
and seconds later, the ceiling fan comes crashing down on the cradle. It's the
first hint of the boy's superhero power.
Aishwarya handles these initial scenes quite well without wasting too much time
on explaining the medical condition. She even makes Karthik fall in love with
Priya in just a matter of minutes. It's absolutely fine because we're spared the
torture of sitting through a cliched romantic track.
Half an hour into the film, we have a hero with extra sensory perception,
happily in love and a secure job. And just when you start getting restless,
Aishwarya plays her cards well and spruces up the proceedings with a twist. A
colleague at work, Pandian aka Panda, played by Vivekh, introduces Karthik to
the world of betting. Panda believes he can make a fortune with Karthik's
special ability, which has made him abnormal to the world. They bet on a match
and walk away with a crore, earning the wrath of Randhu, (Daniel Balaji) who is
the kingpin of cricket betting. Randhu quickly comes to the conclusion that he
could score something much bigger with Karthik.
The first half is incredible fun and the fact that Aishwarya has gone
shamelessly commercial is visible in every frame. She handles it quite well and
it's a leap of faith from her first film.
There's a corporate meeting scene in a BPO, and the executive level managers are
talking about sending a few employees home. They use corporate terms like
downsizing. Sathish is handed three months salary in advance and Karthik
mistakes it for an increment and wants a party. Panda quickly clarifies that
he's been given the pink slip (termination of employment). It's a small scene
and doesn't matter if Aishwarya didn't stick to the corporate terminologies, but
she doesn't take it lightly, which is good on her part.
Vivekh and Sathish keep the laughs flowing with the situational humour, mostly
riding on one-liners. The scene where Vivekh and Karthik speak gibberish to make
Sathish leave the place is a riot, and is also when Vivekh holds a placard with
a drinking disclaimer on it seconds before actually drinking on screen.
The film goes haywire post interval. It felt like Aishwarya got bored and asked
someone else to direct the second half. Some portions are shot on a cruise, and
it's undoubtedly the most disappointing few minutes of 'Vai Raja Vai', which
gets completed in a hurry. God knows why, but the way Aishwarya rushed with the
second half is proof of turning a reasonably good cinematic experience into a
nightmare. Dhanush's cameo is a riot too, but adds no value to the story.
Taapsee, Manobala and M.S. Bhaskar feature in worthless cameos.
Overall, 'Vai Raja Vai' is a good effort gone completely awry.
Vai Raja Vai Press Meet Stills
Vai Raja Vai Movie Audio Launch Stills