Vaazhai Movie Review

“Vaazhai,” Mari Selvaraj’s fourth film, is a semi-fictional narrative inspired by his childhood experiences, as indicated in the movie’s opening subtext. About a year ago, Steven Spielberg released “The Fabelmans,” which shares a similar autobiographical approach, though it’s unclear if it influenced Selvaraj. Unlike his earlier films “Karnan” and “MaaMannan,” “Vaazhai” hasn’t generated as much buzz, possibly due to the absence of star power and the mixed reception of his previous works.

While the film touches on capitalist oppression, its main focus is on a young boy who has a crush on his teacher and despises working in the banana plantation. As the story unfolds, it’s evident where Mari Selvaraj drew inspiration for his other films. The boy has a friend, and their classroom scenes are reminiscent of those with Yogi Babu in “Pariyerum Perumal,” providing the movie’s only humor. The boy’s crush on his teacher is exaggerated, especially when he smells her handkerchief, which crosses into uncomfortable territory.

It looks like there are a lot of things they do to artificially create an impact, which is not there in the story at all. There are shots to juxtapose on something, showing visuals of people in grayscale, drone view of place looks like they are very overused. Nearing the climax, a lot of events happen just to create impact, and they aren't really on the flow.

Given the lush green landscape and the harsh events the character endures, if the story were set in England, it could be aptly titled ‘Greenwich Mean Time.’ It seems the creators were more focused on making the film than ensuring it was engaging for viewers. It’s better to wait for the OTT release so you can skip parts or the entire movie.