Vanangaan Review – A Watchable Human Drama Powered with Action!
Vanangaan Review – A Watchable Human Drama Powered with Action!
Vanangaan Review – A Watchable Human Drama Powered with Action!
Ashwin Ram
Vanangaan is a rustic drama directed by Bala in which Arun Vijay plays the lead role. The songs are composed by GV Prakash, while the background score is handled by Sam.C.S.
Premise:
Arun Vijay suffers from hearing and speaking disability, he naturally understands the pain of the differently abled people. His anger goes for a toss when he witnesses inhumane behaviour against some visually impaired girls. How he deals with the cruel men forms the remaining story.
Writing/ Direction:
Arun Vijay’s characterization is layered, the multiple aspects are neatly established in the opening stretch with a powerful action sequence, which is followed by a quirky situation involving a judicial officer. The film goes path-away after that till the interval point. The payoff is totally contradictory from what is happening on-screen in the first half. There is no coherence in the screenwriting, the flow is filled with scenes that appear as separate blocks and the connecting factors have gone haywire. Especially the intended to be comical portions with the heroine are unimaginably boring. The sibling-bond is the crux of the movie, it plays a major role at the very end, in that case the relationship had to have a strong base which was missing at the first place. So the emotional impact falls flat, despite the shortcomings the film manages to appeal post midway. Bala’s filmmaking is relevant both in terms of writing sensibilities and directorial ability. The way certain scenes have been portrayed makes a solid mark. The second half is thankfully focused with many gripping characters and relatable plot points. Though, there is a level of convenience in spotting the third person in the notorious gang, his atrocious way of living life makes us feel for the hero and the reason why he is fighting for.
Performances:
Superb performance from Arun Vijay, his sharp expressions in the hospital scene with the red lights to highlight is such a memorable sequence. Roshini Prakash puts on a terrible act, the girl thinks she is Pithamagan Suriya and overacts too much. Mysskin as the judge and Samuthirakani as the investigative special officer get fascinating roles to play with their own set of rules for justice translating Bala’s ideology on-screen. Debut actress Ridha has played an innocent sister role very neatly, and she indeed proves she is a promising find.
Technicalities:
Lovely songs by GV Prakash, the only issue is that they all sound the same, nevertheless soulful tracks. Sam.C.S’ background score might not be that impactful, yet he has delivered what is best for the situations. Quality camera work, barring the flat colour grading, the angles were as earthy as possible. Welcoming runtime of just 2 hours, still there are way-too-many lags in the first half to be scissored, the latter gets into control. Stunt Silva’s choreography is raw and realistic, the fight scenes have come out so lively and the sound effects are on-point to elevate the experience.
Bottomline
Might not be highly impactful like Bala’s early works, yet offers something to keep us invested at least for the second half is concerned. Major issue lies in the lazy articulation of the first hour which has many loose ends.
Rating – 2.5/ 5
