Varsham is a very heart-touching tale with a very important message. The well executed film has a very relevant subject; that of today's rat-race and the distorted sense of priority that people, especially parents now a days have. Without being too didactic or preachy, 'Varsham' manages to nail home the point.
The movie revolves around Venu (Mammootty) and his wife Nandini (Asha Sarth). They provide their only son Anand (Prajwal Prasad) with all the love and worldly support, but fails to understand the young boy. His humane and fragile side is time and again brushed aside brutally. His concern for others and his caring nature is repeatedly reprimanded. All that the parents want is their son to excel more than the others, be the best and make them proud. The poor son has to shoulder the heavy ambitions of his parents and content with their jealous and petty nature.
Though this is a subject that has oft been repeated, the execution is what stands out. The subtle nuances displayed by the characters seems very real. The displaced sense of priority is brilliantly brought out in an unhurried manner. The charting out of MBBS plans, the swimming lessons, the selfish and petty attitudes, the friend with cancer episode, the sequences involving the servant are all strung together flawlessly, to bring out a flawed set of parents and a pressured young boy.
From here, the movie takes on a different trajectory that results in the unraveling of their ambitions and priority. Mamta as a doctor enters during this changed mood. The sift from the arrogant and over-ambitious parents to a socially conscious couple again is done very naturally. Mammootty as a financier and the kind of changes he makes to his ethics are brilliantly brought out.
A simple family, their ambitions and dreams, the people around them, the society in which they are living are all brought up for scrutiny. The movie subtly questions parents how they treat their children and what moral consciousness they have.
The actors have all done justice to their roles. The pettiness, the angst, attitudinal changes, pride, selfishness have all been done superbly by Mammootty and Asha Sarath. Their nuances are very natural and fits in perfectly. Only the excessive grief shown by Mammootty depicted symbolically through the shaving sequence jars a bit. Prajwal has put up a commendable performance. Though his has less screen time, he hold his own as the pressured, fragile and kind-hearted son. Supporting actors that adorn the couple's life have also done their part well.
Music is not loud and is used only when necessary, to carry forward the story. Background score adds to the drama. Cinematography and editing is crisp without being jerky. The frames are neat. Ranjith Shankar has once again delivered a social drama with elan. 'Varsham' is truly a movie worth watching. There wouldn't be anyone without tears, watching the heart-wrenching movie unfold.
Rating -8.5/10
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