What Is the Story About?
Varmaa Vasudev (Dhruv Vikram) is an extraordinary medical student who falls in love with Megha, a fresher. How love progresses and what happens when the family of the girl did not accept the love of Varmaa is the basic story? The narrative comprises of the agony and pain of Varmaa on losing the girl he loves most.
Performances?
Performances?Varmaa is the debut movie of Dhruv Vikram as a hero. It is an official remake of cult Telugu movie Arjun Reddy. It was supposed to arrive in cinemas first, but that did not happen. Now, we know the reason why it happened that way.
Dhruv Vikram comes across as so raw and unprepared in his first outing. It does not help that he has to go through the comparison to match the original. There is an amateurish body language throughout if one were to keep the original in mind. Just the facial hair presentation is enough to turn off the viewer. The ‘style’ and ‘attitude’ are nil.
The chemistry is also not felt because Dhruv looks like he is more self-aware about himself and the character and wants to impress the audience. Instead of playing the character like it should be to generate a real feeling.
The positives are the voice and some emotional scenes and outbursts that come across a little natural. These are in typical director Bala style. Dhruv Vikram looks alright and can be groomed into a good looking younger version of his father, Vikram. There is a lot of resemblance between them.
Analysis
Director Bala needs no introduction. He is a legend in his own right, and the terrain he delves in which is based on realistic hard-hitting drama and emotions. When it comes to Arjun Reddy, it was an off choice the moment his name came as the probable director. We know why once we see the remake, Varmaa.
The setting and the basic story is not a new space for Bala. He did it more than two decades ago with Sethu – a film that changed the career of Vikram. Maybe this is what prompted the dad (Vikram) to opt Bala for his son’s launch. Sadly, there couldn’t have been a more wrong judgement than this.
Arjun Reddy for all its seriousness and raw emotions still offers an engaging and heroic narrative. It is intense with an urban appeal and has nothing for the ‘mass’ audience in a true sense. Bala is an exact opposite person as a director in that regard. When we see Varmaa, it is clear why?
Varmaa is devoid of all the stylish exuberance of the original. Nothing seems heroic or ‘manly’ despite the in-your-face ‘phallic.’ exertion by the director. It is changes like these and not so slick execution that makes Varmaa a bore.
The idea to bring Eshwari Rao’s character seems nice initially but feels like a needless change in the end. Through her character Bala tries to cut a lot of so-called ‘excess’ from the original, but Varmaa instead feels rushed and devoid of genuine emotions due to the same.
The father track is also similarly reworked. But, it fails to give the final emotional punch as intended by the director. It only adds to the dated quality of thoughts and execution by the master director.
More than anything else, the changes make Varmaa look rushed. It feels as if the ‘Master’ is correcting the work of ‘Student’ and removing everything that he feels is unnecessary with disdain. Unfortunately, what it does is leave us with no emotional connection despite so much visible pain. The less one talks about the impact of the iconic moments from the original, the better. There is even no comparison between then as many of them pass without registering at all.
Overall, Varmaa is a dated and inferior remake from director Bala. It neither has his trademark nor bears any freshness. It comes across as insincere and loosely adapted remake made by someone who is in a hurry to finish it quickly. It is best to bury the memories of watching. Maybe that’s why it didn’t have a theatrical release in the first place.
Other Artists?
Meghna Choudhary playing the female lead is a sincere recreation of the original. There are a couple of additional dialogues towards the end, but everything else is the same, including the face. As mentioned previously, Eshwari Rao is a welcome addition from the original. She has done her part well, but, at the risk of sounding repetitive, in the end, it feels pointless. The actor playing the all-important role of the friend hardly registers. It feels as if he doesn’t exist in the movie.
Music and Other Departments?
If there is one aspect where Varmaa remains close to the original, it is the music by Radhan. It is mostly the same as ‘original’ (songs wise) with a modified background score. On both scores, it is on par. The opening titles theme itself is sensational and gives the right mood. Unfortunately, what follows next is nothing home to write about.
The cinematography is neat, and the visuals have a colourful texture, in parts. However, parts of it also are extremely poor as if it is an unfinished product. The editing is fine. The writing, ultimately, along with Dhruv, is where Varmaa fails.
Highlights?
Music and BGM
Short Length
Drawbacks?
Non-Charismatic Lead
Outdated Direction
No Emotional Connect
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Varmaa Movie Review by Binged Bureau
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
