Varisu follows the story of Vijay who is given the task of taking over the business from his father against the wishes of his brothers. What happens next? The story is as old as old can be with absolutely nothing new to offer. It won’t be wrong of me saying that this was an old wine recycled and packaged in a new bottle. I do fully understand that this is a mass masala entertainer and I shouldn’t be seeking story or even logic in this film. But the bar of entertainment cannot be so low with a superstar just catering to the bare minimum fan service. If the story wasn’t novel, the only hope was from its screenplay to provide some entertainment. But standing at almost 170 minutes long, it is daunting and a masterclass in how to expand a wafer thin plot for almost 3 hours.

The drama does start off on a decent note wherein you are introduced to the prime characters before the gala entry of our superstar. So we are told of a family business being carried out against a competitor where despite winning the deal, not everything seems to be alright. Cut to the grand slow-motion entry of the protagonist amidst claps and whistles from the audience, only for him to break into a random gig. So far the entertainment quotient is decent, although nothing much to shout about already. As the story progresses, we get to know that not everything is well between Vijay and his family until a twist of fate brings them together much to the dismay of the brothers. How Vijay wins over their trust forms the rest of the story.

Now, penning a review of Varisu isn’t easy simply because throughout its runtime of 170 minutes, almost nothing substantial happens. Neither the stakes are high nor the events are entertaining or engaging enough. And this while some of the audience members were having an absolute ball. Honestly, this made me question my judgement, am I the only one not enjoying? But as the drama did unfold further, the claps and whistles began to evaporate and that is when my faith my restored. The drama is as flat as a pancake, thus being as predictable as ever. You can sense the pulse of the drama on where it is headed and the events exactly take you to that point. Also, multiple slow-motion shots did nothing but extend the length of the drama.

I have nothing against commercial entertainers provided they do that one thing right, which is to entertain the viewers. But taking the audience for granted is just not right which is what this drama does here. The events are bumpy and so random that it made me wonder why such a film, in times of OTT, was even made in the first place. Even the action sequences did not exude of any confidence. A few emotional scenes did work momentarily but I couldn’t help but think how simplistic this drama actually is. The love angle was an absolute eyesore and the comedy too forced to even have me bother about it. Even the final act where you would otherwise expect a final showdown is executed so poorly that the excitement of watching a Thalapathy Vijay film just wasn’t there. I wonder what would have been the fate of the drama had this been a Hindi film. Memes Galore! Overall, the lesser said the better about the screenplay.