Vaazhai Movie Review: An uncompromising, unadulterated, and powerful journey to the core of Mari Selvaraj’s mind

Take, for instance, the best-ever usage of Nayakan’s theme music in Tamil cinema. It is downright funny and appears as if the maker is inviting everyone into the kids’ world on one simple condition — don’t judge, observe. When we observe, we understand the abject poverty of the village and its inhabitants. They know they are being exploited, but they don’t have a choice. It is the late 90s, and there is no electricity in any household. They want their kids to study and make something of themselves, but the cruel clutches of the economy force them to take their children to work. As they say, flowers bloom even in a war, and amidst all the cacophony of everyday struggles, Sivanaindhan develops an unadulterated affection for his teacher, Poonkodi. 

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It is beautiful how Mari takes his time to make us understand love can’t be dissected. Sivanaindhan finds Poonkodi beautiful, but he always sees her as his teacher. It is a beautiful dichotomy that could have been an obnoxious thing in a lesser filmmaker’s imagination. But here, it is pure. Nikhila plays Poonkodi beautifully, understanding the undertones of her character, and the dignity of the relationship. The writing in these portions is Mari’s finest, and he ensures the smiles on our faces never turn into the slightest of grimaces. The same is true for every relationship explored in the film — be it the blossoming romance between Vembu and Kani (Kalaiyarasan), or Sivanaindhan’s relationship with his mother, there is an undercurrent of pain and suffering blanketed by love. In fact, that’s exactly how Mari weaves Vaazhai, which is taken from the pages of his own life. Knowing this is a true story makes the film all the more impactful, but extra points to Mari for making it effective even without this nugget of information.

Ponvel and Nikhila Vimal from Vaazhai

Vaazhai is built around the power of nature, the strength of love, and a human’s capacity to be cruel. When you see a young boy ‘stealing’ a ripe banana from your field, what would be your first response? When you get the opportunity to show who is the boss to people fighting for their rights, how far would you go? When child labour is normalised by every family member, and the educated teacherfolk in school, who do you turn to for help? Vaazhai poses these existential questions in a film that has Mari at his commercial best. It might seem like a breezier watch than his previous films. Yes, it does firmly focus on the systemic oppression of a community, and how brief spurts of resistance are culled to the ground almost immediately. The film, however, progresses on a different tangent, simply because Vaazhai, for the longest time, is a film shown through the eyes of the children. In some ways, it is Mari’s Children of Heaven, or Children of Puliyankulam. For Sekar and Sivananindhan, this labour is hard because it is hard work and keeps them away from school. They aren’t yet accustomed to the harsh realities of the world. But amidst all the humour, the light-heartedness, and the seemingly lush beauty of the locales, Mari shows Sivanaindhan gradually coming to terms with reality. The humour isn’t that funny anymore. The heart isn’t that light anymore. And that is when Vaazhai slowly sucks us into the vortex of heart-wrenching realities.

Guiding us in this journey through various realities is the brilliant music of Santhosh Narayanan. It is almost like the composer reserves his uncompromising music for Mari’s films. What makes this combination truly click is their penchant for silence, and it truly makes us appreciate the music that comes after a bout of nothingness. Another highlight of Vaazhai is Theni Eswar’s visuals. Despite the calming green surrounding their grey lives, the colours never merge; they are almost like concentric circles. The repeated usage of these expansive frames lets us in on the laborious nature of the villagers’ work, and the actors’ calibre comes through in the close-ups that relies on their expressive faces to paint a story where words don’t do justice. Talking about actors, Ponvel and Sekhar are the best thing to happen in Tamil cinema in quite a while. Their innocence is the soul of the Vaazhai, and they are ably supported by a superlative cast that gives it all in a film that needed them to be convincing to the hilt.

Ponvel and Raghul from Vaazhai

But at the end of the day, as the heart-wrenching realities hit us like a ton of bricks, we are reminded that Vaazhai, just like other Mari films, isn’t fixated on othering anyone. It invites you for a cup of coffee. It invites you to a dance in the middle of the night. It invites you to a political discourse on an even platform. It invites you to understand that there is a reason why banana sap stains dry up to be brown, just like blood. Vaazhai is an insight into the unsaid stories of the oppressed. It tells us that the personal is political. It tells us the stories of the ones left behind. It tells the reason why some people are more purposeful than others. And while telling and showing all of this, Vaazhai is also brilliant cinema… and that is probably who Mari Selvaraj is.

Vaazhai Movie Cast: Ponvel, Raghul, Nikhila Vimal, Kalaiyarasan, Janaki, Dhivya Duraisamy

Vaazhai Movie Director: Mari Selvaraj

Vaazhai Movie Rating: 4