Varathan

Varathan – Movie Review

‘Extreme justice is extreme injustice’ but some people deserve just that.

Statutory Warning: Skip this review if you have a fragile ego about the homeland Kerala which overpowers the reality.

Varathan though after heavily promising a very raw slice of life in the first half,  disappoints at that end in the second half. The fact of interest is that even that change of plot is executed so well that someone who likes well-crafted plot scenes and action sequences will enjoy. Though at an emotional and perspective level I felt cheated, Varathan is indeed worth a watch.

When I watched NH10 in 2015, the spectacular thriller by Anushka Sharma, it was a gut-wrenching experience. The second half made me feel a range of emotions, from pain to outright angst and revenge. The movie was indeed a reality check but was set in again a state which is known for its atrocities against women, Haryana.

The beginning of the plot is somewhat similar for both the movies, what begins as a journey for reviving romance lost in the fast-paced life, turns out to be a truly horrific experience. 

When NH10 kept it raw and realistic, by second-half director Amal Neerad, had to bring in his expertise in creating stellar action scenes (I cannot stop praising those parts too, they are indeed spectacular, watch out for the final scene in the mud).

Where Varathan scored marks for me was the fact that, director Amal Neerad made it a point to finally address the obnoxious attitude towards privacy and the patriarchal atrocities against women in none other than the God’s Own Country which boasts of 100% literacy. For centuries the villages of the state, have been shown as that picturesque green haven full of sweet and loving people (refer Sathyan Anthikad movies, as sweet as they are, it was becoming too sweet to be true). While in the reality, most of the women like me wanted to scream to the world that this place is not just what is being portrayed and that literate crooks are more venomous than the illiterate ones.

As a woman who has traveled most of the states in the country including Bihar, Haryana and currently living in Delhi, which according to media is infamous for the rape cases, I have never felt so much unrest and disgust as much as I have felt back in my own state, Kerala. The sense of entitlement the men carry around, the attitude that they own the women in the house and on the roads, that a woman of not their reach or their type is a land to conquer and 

that no one, literally no one deserves a private life, are somethings which from an early age made me hate that place and ultimately lead to my nomad life, throughout the country.

It is painfully difficult to explain how these behaviors which everyone says is everywhere, is dangerously different in the God’s own country, as the differences seem to be subtle yet are fatal. Personally, the biggest victory of the movie for me was that the differences and the disgusting realities associated with it are realistically captured in the first half of the movie.

The movie’s core strength is its Cinematography by Littil Swayamp who is sure to make you cringe, feel the disgust and horror, scene by scene backed up by the detailed direction by Amal Neerad. While they succeeded to capture the beauty of the village, they also knew how to induce the elements of absolute dismay supported by the on-point background scores by Sushin Shyam.

Fahadh Faasil and Aishwarya Lekshmi as Aby and Priya are perfect on- screen, their chemistry is flawless and as real as it can get. 

Aishwarya as Priya perfectly resonates with all the women who get the gut instincts of violation way ahead and struggles to convey it to the world. 

Fahadh, as usual, is in his best form and excels as Aby, the naïve outsider in a village who is clearly unaware of the ritualistic ways of affection.

I wish the second half didn’t turn the way it did, changing Aby into his new self but as much as my evolved thoughts restrict to word it but knowing the reality of how creepy sometimes things can go, I must admit that things might as well happen the way it did.

It takes a good director to bring a strong makeover to an actor, Sharaf U Dheen as Josey brings forth for the first time a realistic performance which any women can associate with the local Romeo turned perverts they have encountered in their lives. Rest of the supporting cast too does their best making Varathan the believable storyline it is.

Keeping aside the plot, where director just couldn’t stop himself from giving his central character a heroic twist and suddenly giving a compensation twist to the female character at the end, realizing damsels in distress are not in trend these days, Varathan is an absolute delight to watch, with subtle yet powerful statements whole throughout, which is sure to ring a bell if you have been UpToDate with the recent social news of Kerala. The self-proclaimed managers of culture, the real-life jobless perverts and predators were for me, most venomous than all the villains of Amal Neerad movies put together.

P.S.: By now you might have already said “Not all men” a thousand times or you might not even tolerate to read up till now. My sincere apologies for hurting your feelings and even I who has more men as friends than women, know that not all men are the same but unfortunately, the different lot are alarmingly at a low. And as women we put up with such savage behaviour from most men almost all the time, imagine how horrible it is to live every second on our toes, preparing to retort to a violation. Only when one accepts the reality, can anything be done to change the situation so let’s start accepting the truth and start to collectively change the mindsets.

Picture Courtesy: IMDb, Youtube, The Hindu