Viraaji Movie Review

Viraaji is Varun Sandesh’s second film in two month, releasing a few weeks after Nindha. The film promises to be a thriller. Varun plays a whacky character in the film, sporting a mane dyed in blue and yellow. Viraaji has an ensemble cast, with supporting characters also getting significant screen time.

What is it about?

A stand-up comic, gynaecologist, hotel manager, police officer and a drug addict, among others find themselves in an abandoned mental asylum by a mysterious host, who informs them that they would all be dead by dawn. How are all these people related to each other? Why are they being threatened? Will they live to see another day or will they perish in the hands of a mysterious antagonist? Who is Viraaji? Shot mostly in a single location with minimal flashbacks, Viraaji is a story of fear, crime and justice.

Performance

Varun Sandesh makes a rather late entry in the film, but the depth of his performance unravels itself in the latter portions. The actor gets to flaunt his American accent in the film and he has the most fun onscreen with these sequences. He does not shine as much in the latter portions, where he is required to dance.

Pramodini, known best by her mother roles, gives an assured performance with her expressive eyes. Balagam Jayaram is another strong performer, though the writing does not give him much to work on.

Technicalities

The film is set in Vizag and mostly shot in a single location. The film’s writing seems to be making up for the lack of budget, with many details being revealed to us through dialogue rather than action. There is nothing much to write home about, in terms of technical aspects.

Thumbs-up

Last thirty minutes of the film
Varun Sandesh

Thumbs-Down

Simplistic writing
First Half
Generic storytelling

Analysis

Viraaji is 1 hour 40 minutes long. When one first looks at the runtime on the censor certificate, it provides one some relief, as they believe this movie will be short and sweet. But after watching the film, one realizes that 100 minutes is also too lengthy a runtime for this particular story. The film is best suited for a 30 minute-long short film.

The last thirty minutes of the film, where everything picks up and the audience really gets their answers, is the film’s best part. But to reach there, one has to endure portions so lengthy, they feel meaningless in retrospect. The film’s makers should have ideally resolved this issue by either creating a first half that is engaging by itself or a first half that connects itself seamlessly and logically with the explanations in the second half. Without these kind of interventions reflecting in the screenplay, Viraaji feels long and boring. There were many opportunities to make the film more thrilling, but they were ignored in favour of a generic treatment. The direction is equally basic and lifeless.

Bottom-line: Viraji – No jii

Rating: 2/5