Vanamagan

This is another one of those movies which I wanted to catch up just for the lead hero - Jayam Ravi. This movie uses a good subject of tribal livelihood as its backdrop.

The story revolves around Jara (Jayam Ravi), a member of a tribe based in Andaman. He lands up in Chennai through Kavya (Sayeesha), a cold-hearted businesswoman. When the Andaman police manage to get him back to Andaman, Jara finds out that his whole tribe have been displaced from their home as the property was required for some industrial project and that the tribal community is under hiding somewhere nearby. Does Jara manage to reunite with his group and retain their livelihood or not forms the rest of the story.

The displacement of tribals from their livelihoods, leading to their population decrease is the core subject of this movie, which has to be appreciated. The end credits scenes indicate that scenario very well and the attempt is sincere from director Vijay. Another good message conveyed by Vijay is the extent to which humans have become materialistic and thereby, living an inhuman life.

The same cannot be said for the execution though. There isn't too much focus on the tribals' lives and their struggles, barring about 30 mins in the 2nd half. The other portions involved the heroine to a large extent. The last 30 minutes were an absolute drag. The climax, in particular, was below average to say the least. Instead of going a bit more in depth into the life and struggles of tribals, the story was diluted with a lot of commercial elements like romance portions and duet songs.

One of the biggest positives in Vanamagan is Jayam Ravi. Man, this guy is a terrific actor and he's proved it here too. The challenge in this role was that there are hardly any dialogues for him and all the emoting had to be done through his eyes. He has aced in all aspects and is completely convincing as a tribal person. The scene where Jara, getting back to his forest home, expresses his happiness is a sure standout.

Sayeesha's character's importance is shown only towards the end and till then she's shown as the usual Tamil Cinema heroine, who's used for song and romance portions. She has done a decent job with the emoting and lip sync. Her dance is fantastic though. Prakash Raj neither has a challenging nor important role and he just aces through the character. Thambi Ramaiah entertains at few places with his timing.

Coming to the musical aspect in Harris Jeyaraj's 50th movie, certain songs are praiseworthy both in terms of music and picturisation. The visuals for Silu Silu song is the pick of the lot for me as it shows the lifestyle of the tribals in the most natural manner. Yamma Hey Azhagamma impresses with its choreography and the lead chemistry, but its placement is questionable. The Pachai Uduthiya number during the last half and hour was an absolute waste. The BGM, to me, wasn't at Harris' level, barring a couple of tunes like the Silu Silu BGM. The CGI was also patchy at most places.

Overall, Vanamagan is a movie that had a lot of potential but was ruined to a good extent in the execution department. But if you're bored, then this film can be given a shot just once just for the stellar performance of Jayam Ravi.

The movie was good only but not so good. The storyline was good but there are many logic mistakes in the movie. Everybody acted very well in the movie. The climax could be more better. Songs and BGM in the movie was good.

A.L Vijay's 'Vanamagan' is dedicated to the 100+ uncontacted (sparsely populated) tribes as per the end credits. However, it thoroughly sticks to its icky Tamil masala film formula. Six songs that bear no purpose whatsoever, are inserted at the worst of junctures.

The two positives about the film are a) The scene where Jayam Ravi's character Vaasi / Jaara treats the injured tiger that tried to harm a little child (the CGI isn't great but the sincerity in putting the thought across is felt!) b) The end credits which provide the audience with a brief on the dwindling numbers of tribal population all around the world.

What we get to see in the rest of the film is just stock characters (and a jungle-dweller) who go about their clichéd businesses of romance, song-and-dance routines, unconvincingly choreographed stunts, and oodles of tribal sentiment under the garb of a social message. A.L Vijay's intention is honest, but he succumbs to the 'isms' of Tamil cinema a tad too much for 'Vanamagan' to be taken seriously. The second half is slightly better than the first, mostly owing to the magnificent shooting locales in Andaman.

Sayyesha is an exceptional dancer but the same cannot be said about her acting skills (as yet!). Thambi Ramaiah annoys with his poor comic timing and one-liners. Prakash Raj repeats his trademark style while portraying the antagonist.

Verdict: Below average!

Tamil films have started to focus more on the actual story rather than commercializing a poor script. This revolves around a great concept, the CGI was excellent which was surprising as usually they seem unrealistic. Also, Thambi Ramaiah is a great addition to the film. He executes his comedy in his signature style and it makes this film a great watch for all ages. This film offers a perspective that is often overlooked in the modern age, and it is broadcasted exceptionally well in my option despite other reviewers who disagree.

This is definitely worth a watch, in fact- it was good enough for me to write my first review for IMDb.

Vanamagan (aka Tarzan The He-Man in hindi) is an action adventure film written and directed by A. L. Vijay. The film stars Jayam Ravi, Sayyeshaa, Prakash Raj, Thambi Ramaiah, and Varun.

A rich spoilt girl goes to Andaman with her friends to celebrate her birthday with her friends, there she knock a tribal man while evading policeman.

I have to say that the plot and the start of the film was terrific but execution and primarily the climax had ruined a promising film. The film has some very illogical and senseless scenes which ruins the entire film and derails the film from it's plot.

The start of the film is good and realistic but as the film progresses the commercialization kills the main intent of the film and the film becomes another ordinary revenge film.

The acting in the film is average and apart from Jayam Ravi all of the other actors were average to bad, the character transformation of Sayyeshaa from a cold hearted business woman to a kind woman didn't get digested as it happens too fast. We have seen Prakash Raj doing such roles multiple times and there were no freshness or efforts seen in his acting. Thambi Ramaiah was impresive with his comic skills and Varun was average.

Screenplay of the film is average and didn't excites much. The twists and turns in the film doesn't excites much and looked predictable. The climax of the film looked dragged upon and ends in abrupt ending killing the remaining limited excitement.

The film has some great potential and could've been a great film but misses the mark. The film can be watched once but without any expectations.

P. S. I have watched the film in Hindi language hence the comment is based on that film.