Vaazhai Movie Review: Mari Selvaraj’s film shines in its treatment, becomes an ode to innocence

3.5/5

Vaazhai Movie Story

Sivanaindhaan (Ponvel) and Sekar (Raghul) are two school-going boys. During the weekends, they along with other families in the village, work as labourers at the banana plantation fields. Sivanaindhaan has an infatuation on his school teacher Poongodi (Nikhila Vimal). As Vaazhai unfolds the lives of the young boys, they are caught between brimming innocence and the hardships they are put through because of their labour-inducing work.

Vaazhai Movie Review

Mari Selvaraj’s fourth directorial feels like a rebirth of the filmmaker. A rebirth that feels very different from the previous lives, in this case, his older films; Pariyerum Perumal, Karnan and Maamannan. Despite this, Vaazhai feels close to home, as it shares the very essence of who Mari Selvaraj is.

Also read: Vaazhai trailer out: Watch Mari Selvaraj’s new film exploring the moments of childhood 

In Vaazhai, which follows the lives of two young boys, Mari Selvaraj deviates from his usual style of filmmaking. There isn’t bloodshed or at least on the face of it, or an outwardly oppressing villain. Instead, the filmmaker builds enough cavity to let you travel into the world of Sivanaindhaan and Sekar, two boys who share a close camaraderie to be surely envious about. While Sivanaindhaan is a Rajinikanth fan, other adores Kamal Haasan to bits, to the extreme that he even understands how the star doesn’t need fancy methods to emote pain. The surprises come in form of nuggets of comedy that Mari Selvaraj inserts in the banter these two boys have. It is refreshing because the filmmaker never dabbles on making the audience laugh in his usually gritty films. 

But in Vaazhai, the comic deviation feels breezy, brimmed with innocence or more so like homecoming amid the slew of films that take a serious tone. Make no mistake, Vaazhai by no means is a film that will leave you without tugging the heartstrings. Mari Selvaraj lets you on, by showing Sivanaindhaan’s instant attraction towards Poongodi. When Sivanaindhaan compares the beauty of his teacher to that of his mother and then his sister, you know the film is all about the hearty affection that can brew out from simple and momentarily joys. There is a brief sequence of the boys searching for a song that has Poongodi name in the lyrics and stumble on Manjal Poosum Manjal Poosum featuring Vijayakanth and Sukanya from Sakkarai Devan. In another instance, Mari Selvaraj uses another yesteryear song to which Sivanaindhaan is practicing for annual day celebrations. Little joys are all that matter for Sivanaindhaan, and so for us in this film.

The film only has a few characters apart from the boys to drive the drama, but Vaazhai understands its assignment and dedicates moments to it. Kani (Kalaiyarasan), a fellow labourer who stands up for his people and a rise in their wages, Sivanaindhaan’s sister Vembu (Dhivya Duraisamy) who takes a liking to Kani, their mother (Janaki) who is helpless and need to send her children to work at the banana plantations as labourers, and Poongodi, all of them build on to the moments that drive the life of Sivanaindhaan, a boy who has simple wishes including to dance at annual school functions, and keep memorabilia of his favourite teacher’s handkerchief. 

Vaazhai is not quick to jump into the politics that the filmmaker is known for speaking. He finds the right time, and that’s when the people’s revolution begins, in this case, the labourers’ right to earn more wages and the understanding of generational exploitation. On the surface, Sivanaindhaan may appear to be enjoying his innocence despite the harsh reality, but the film weaves the painful truth through the perspectives of other characters that we understand Sivanaindhaan little joys are farther than it should really be.

Survivor’s guilt is a possible topic this film touches upon. But Mari Selvaraj’s larger concerns loom over the exploitation that people of the soil are subjugated for. Vaazhai exemplarily stands like a testament. Unlike Mari Selvaraj’s previous films, Vaazhai takes its time to let the audience get accustomed to its characters, the livelihood and lifestyle of the boys, and the quirks inserted here and there, balancing the tonality shift. Cast members Ponvel, Raghul, Dhivya, Kalaiyarasan and Nikhila are great additions, who achieve in bringing their characters so close to you, thereby reducing the distance between you and them. So is Santhosh Narayanan’s music and Theni Eswar’s cinematography. They know how much they aid in the story of Mari Selvaraj, that is upfront personal, cathartic, and deeply painful.

Vaazhai Movie Verdict

Vaazhai is a delightful deviation that Mari Selvaraj took after making his previous films. Vaazhai brims with innocence and has a childlike quality of coming in terms with pain. High on quality, and beautifully emoted characters, Vaazhai easily becomes one of the best Tamil films to have come out in 2024, and stands tall in Mari Selvaraj’s filmography.

Also read: Maamannan director Mari Selvaraj to make his OTT debut with SOS. Details inside