Vaazha Movie Review: Exploring the Heartfelt Journey of Fathers and Sons

Image Source- Indian Express

Moments in your life arise when you feel like your parents wronged you. All those times when you think those words from your parents left a deep scar in your heart. You never received an apology from them, and you experienced all those instances when the ground felt like it was slipping beneath your feet. If you are one of these people, Vaazha, directed by Anand Menen, is the perfect slice-of-life drama where 5 young boys navigate this fast-paced life and find solace among each other.

Ajo (Siju Sunny), Vishnu (Amith Mohan Rajeswari), Moosa (Joemon Jyothir), Abdul Kalam (Anuraj OB), and Vivek (Saaf) have sat in the backbench since Class 1 and have remained close friends since then. When anything goes wrong in the school, people often blame them. Nothing ever goes right when they are together, yet they remain best friends. The same cannot be said for their fathers, who must visit the school almost like it’s a drill. The families' pressure to do well creates tension, which eventually feels like a failed dream. Society labels them as Vaazha, yes, the all-purpose banana plantain, but the mystery of why this comparison often arises for people who slack off remains unsolved.

As problems increase, tension escalates, creating a rift in the respective households. As time passes, families start to ridicule and humiliate them because they remain idle and jobless after completing their studies. These wounds erode like a deep scar in their souls, continuing to burn. With everyone around constantly taunting them, they feel they have indeed become Vaazhas. The main question remains whether their parents will step up and offer a hand to heal those wound-inflicted scars. This thought drives the other half of the plot.

While Vaazha evokes a certain nostalgia and laughter, a few instances reveal that the plot needs better utilization. The two love stories almost seem poised to bloom like flowers, but midway, they falter. This may leave you puzzled, wondering why they exist at all. Additionally, the narrative fails to elaborate on the lives of those who have found success through their hard work, but I do not complain, since the slacker storyline serves as the main focus of the story.

Despite all these shortcomings, Vipin Das has successfully kept you hooked with an instant dose of humour. Like his last outing, Gurvayoor Ambalanadayil also hits the exact spot in capturing the attitude of all these five slackers. The elder cast, including Azees Nedumangad, Noby Marcose, Kottayam Naseer, and Jagadish, delivers a strong performance that makes you think they were once slackers too.

Apart from the storyline, the casting of the internet sensation, whose mere presence makes you smile, emerges as the main winner. These actors portray the attitude of those lazybones well. Vaazhas Joemon Jyothir's impeccable sense of timing stands out the most, especially in the moments when he interacts with his father, Noby Marcose. The icing on the cake is Basil Joseph's cameo, who also seems to share a similar thought to those loafers. But when it is time to support his son as a father, he acts like those parents who fulfil their own dreams through their children.

The film also showcases how the parents faced similar humiliation and insults from people around them. In one emotional scene, Thomachan (Azees) finally stands up for his son Ajo, highlighting the strong bond between a father and a son. In that moment, he truly understands the pain and suffering of his father, who carried all this angst within himself.

Vaazha tells the story of people who struggle to succeed in their lives and those who strive to meet their parents' expectations. Those who have succeeded must confront the demons within themselves, while others remain trapped in the cycle of achieving success. With the announcement of the sequel, we hope to enjoy more of the fun ride. So, if you're ever in the mood to slack off, watch Vaazha exclusively on Hotstar.