Viraaji Review: The Varun Sandesh survival thriller has a few moments that thrill

Viraaji Review: The film has a interesting premise and showcases Varun Sandesh like never before. But the

Viraaji poster

Viraaji Story

A group of people from different walks of life are cleverly trapped in a haunted house on a hilltop. After a while, they come to know that the place they are trapped in is actually a mental asylum. The group makes a plan to escape from there, and when everything is set, a crazy guy named Andy(Varun Sandesh) comes looking for drugs. He makes the life of the group even more chaotic with his antics. After a turnaround of events, everyone finds out that they are here due to their past deeds. Who is this, Andy? Who is behind the kidnapping, and is there an external force operating in the mental asylum? To know the answers, watch the film on the big screen.

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Viraaji Review

Viraaji is basically a survival thriller that has the backdrop of revenge as it s hidden agenda. A group of people getting trapped in a mental asylum which has to do something with their past and how the group escapes from there is the basic story of the film. The entry of Varun Sandesh with his weird hairdo after a while makes things interesting for the audience.

Director Adyanth Harsha adds a layer of dark comedy to this narrative and this aspect is also interesting. But the sad part is that it is over done after a while and this makes things go down. The film starts with the introduction of various characters which looks a bit routine. But once the story moves to the mental asylum, things start getting interesting.

The runtime of Viraaji is crisp and there are not many deviations in the film. The interval bang is one of the highlights of the film and shocks the audience. The tone is set perfectly for the second half. But sadly, things start on a dull note for the first fifteen minutes of the second half as the director has added many filler scenes for the audience to get engaged to the narrative after a break.

The backstories of those who are trapped are not that strong. Also, the motive for the revenge taken is not established well. The person who is behind all this is only revealed in the last few minutes. Though there is a lot of thrill in this, the manner in which the scenes are dragged bores the audience. After a while, one gets a feeling that why is the director delaying to reveal the man who is behind all this. Such scenes which deviate the film look bring in the narrative.

Coming to the performances, Varun Sandesh shocks the audience with his eccentric avatar. Be it his multi-colored hair or his weird behaviour, Varun has given solid performances. All these days, he is known to do soft roles but in Viraaji, Varun gets a new avatar and he excels. Raghu Karumanchi and Viva Raghava are good in their roles and the horror comedy that is showcased through their characters is good.

GV Ajay Kumar's cinematography neatly captures the crazy atmosphere of the asylum in a solid manner. Ebenezer Paul's music and BGM composed are pretty decent. The way he has elevated Varun Sandesh's scenes during the reveal of the main twist is superb. The production design, VFX used are neat for the money spent. The basic script is also neat on paper but could have been narrated in a better manner.

Ram Tumu's editing is perfect but the dialogues are just about okay. In a way, Viraaji has a very unique premise and showcases Varun Sandesh in a new avatar. Though the build up is slow and predictable, once the film enters its main plot, it looks interesting.

Viraaji Verdict

On the whole, Viraaji is a unique attempt and has Varun Sandesh in a never-before-seen avatar. Though the dark comedy is irritating a bit and deviates from the main plot, the survival thriller has its moments and ends up as a passable watch.

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