Vaazhai : A riveting depiction of the rare joy and constant pain of underprivileged childhood
Mari Selvaraj, who made his directorial debut with 'Pariyerum Perumal' and found instant fame went on to helm two highly acclaimed films viz 'Karnan' and 'Mamannan'. At the core all the three films had the injustices meted out on the lower caste people of Tamil Nadu. He has now come up with his fourth film 'Vaazhai' a biopic of a significant but tragic one year of his childhood. Will this content driven film keep Mari's hit record intact remains to be seen.
Like Pariyerum Perumal and Karnan, an underprivileged village in Tirunelveli is the setting of 'Vaazhai' . The hero of the story is the 90s schoolboy Shivanandam.(Ponvel M.) an ardent Rajinikanth fan whose best buddy Shekhar (Raghul R) is hardcore Kamal fan. This itself fuels more than a few laugh out loud moments as the two argue about who is the biggest star. The biggest joy for Shivanandam is going to school as he loves to study and has a secret crush on his teacher (Nikhila Vimal). On the other hand his biggest woe is the weekend holidays as he is required to go as a load labourer to the banana plantations which takes a toll on him physically. The boy has a supportive sister (Divya Duraisamy) who is eyeing the local social conscious youth Kani (Kalaiyarasan). On a fateful day Shivanandam escapes from going to the plantation work and gets to enjoy dance practice at school and spend quality time with his favorite teacher. But then a great tragedy awaits him that destroys his entire life and world.
Mari Selvaraj's nephew Ponvel M plays the hero with such assuredness that its hard to believe that this is his acting debut. He charms his way into the viewers heart with his boyish antics with his mother, sister and friend and in expressing the teenage crush on his teacher. In the last fifteen minutes are so Ponvel owns the film with his award winning performance of a confused child unable to comprehend the irreparable tragedy of losing his loved ones. Raghul R is the perfect foil to Ponvel with his deadpan expressions when getting his friend in trouble and its hard to control tears when we see his state in the climax. Nikhila Vimal as usual has done justice to yet another rural role nailing the body language and slang considering she is not a native. Kalaiyarasan's character of as the voice of the laborers helps in driving the subplot that also involves a very adequate Divya Duraisamy as the perfect daughter and sister.
What works best in 'Vaazhai' is the world building of the underprivileged village and the banana plantations that transport the viewers into the story. As usual animals play a major role with a cow and its dead calf serving as tools to express a lot of emotions. The entire first half flies by like a breeze with fun moments between the boys and the teacher. The film is relatable as it unfolds in the point of view of a fresh teenager and how he sees the world. Old Ilayaraja and Deva songs add more nostalgia to the proceedings. The tragedy in the climax is heart rending especially the mother realizing how cruel she has been to the poor boy in spite of her own situation. The subplot involving Divya and Kalaiyarasan help in intensifying the pain in the climax.
On the downside though boyhood crushes are quite common, the teacher is not shown explaining it to the boy and rather becomes a quick accomplice. The same situation was handled well in the mediocre Vijay Sethupathi film 'Rekka'. The tragic scenes shot in black and white is sort of rushed and is not as affecting as should be. The feeling that a short film has been stretched into a feature film creeps in as the story progresses.
Santhosh Narayanan and Theni Easwar have silently competed with each other as to whether the rich music or the authentic visuals have enhanced Mari Selvaraj's biopic. The rest of the technicalities are on par. Mari Selvaraj with 'Vaazhai' has kept his reputation as a master storyteller focused on the lives of the downtrodden.
Verdict : Go for this poignant childhood tale which has its moments of fun but at the same time delivers a strong social message as well.
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