Vaathi review: Dhanush impresses as ‘Vaathi’ in this entertainer on education

Director Venky Atluri’s Tamil-Telugu bilingual Vaathi, featuring Dhanush in the lead, is a story that revolves around the issue of education and the significance of keeping it free and thereby accessible to all children, irrespective of their financial status.

The film, which is set in the 1990s, tells the tale of an ordinary assistant schoolteacher who helps 46 students in a government school graduate with flying colours not just in their school exams but also in competitive exams.

In turn, he advises the successful students to help other students from the deprived sections for free and thereby starts a revolution in the field of education.

Director Venky Atluri tries to drive home several points that are significant through this film.

First, he points out that education in India can only be a service and cannot be a profitable business.

Yet, many institutions have turned it into a lucrative business, thereby putting it out of the reach of the poor and the middle class.

Smartly written bilingual film

As his film is bilingual, he has smartly chosen to set the tale in a village that happens to be on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border, making it appealing to both the Tamil and Telugu audiences.

The film gets a thumbs up just for the noble message it looks to communicate to audiences. That apart, it also has some good performances to offer.

In particular, it has noteworthy performances coming in from its lead actors Dhanush, Samyuktha, and Samuthirakani.

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Dhanush steals the show

Dhanush, as assistant teacher Bala Murugan, comes up with a good performance and literally carries the film on his shoulders.

He looks convincing in the teaching sequences and manages to keep the film engaging with his impressive acting.

Samyuktha, who plays the female lead, plays the role of Biology teacher Meenakshi in the film.

Samyuktha does not have much to do in the film but she impresses in the portions in which she does appear.

The romantic portions between Samyuktha and Dhanush, though short, come across as being sweet and adorable and add to the charm of the film.

Samuthirakani, known for having portrayed strong roles advocating free education in earlier Tamil films, appears as the antagonist Thirupathi in this film.

He plays the part of a self-centred, money-minded, and ruthless businessman looking to protect his business interests at any cost to perfection.

The film has a host of Telugu actors including Tanikella Bharani, Thotapalli Madhu, and Sai Kumar in it. All of them deliver neat performances.

#VaathiTrailer

– https://t.co/452xXyfPoQ

— Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) February 8, 2023

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Music is a big plus

On the technical front, music director GV Prakash Kumar’s music is a big plus for the film.

The songs in the film in particular have high retention value and therefore are likely to play a role in drawing audiences to theatres.

Cinematographer Yuvraj does a reasonably good job of capturing the story that is set both in the present day and also in the nineties.

The film, by and large, works. However, it is not without its share of flaws. An explanation the film attempts to give for government schools losing out to private schools in the early nineties is flawed.

The film claims that private schools began to do better than government schools because government school teachers were not paid properly.

While that may have been the case in Telugu-speaking states, that claim is highly contestable in Tamil Nadu, as government school teachers in this state have always been paid well and on time.

Verdict

However, if one chooses to disregard this minor aspect and watch it as a film, Vaathi has a noble message to offer!