TVM ARIESPLEX SL AUDI 5 Varathan is a desi version of 1971 cult classic Straw dogs (which was remade in 2011 also with james marsden and kate Bosworth). Strawdogs has a hell of a reputation among moviegoers (Not the 2011 watered down version!) regarding highly controversial rape scene which is still regarded by many as outright male chauvinistic way to portray rape victims. Contrary to claims of makers, Varathan doesnot fill the bracket of survival thriller genre, its more like a home invasion thriller which is not that popular in MTown ( Surprise sidney ..the selling point !). Abin ,an NRI and his wife Priya returns to their ancestral home near Patham Mile to take a break and rejuvenate themselves, after the former loses the job. Abin is considered as a Varathan (Outsider) by the local community, despite his best efforts to sync with them. With marital problems lurking in the corner, problem intensifies when Abin inadvertently gets caught in the middle of a problem which literally rocked the otherwise quiet rural side. Fahad faasil is simply phenomenal in his portrayal of Abin. Abin is not loud and courageous guy which you will associate with mainstream hero (until the right moment knocks!). His underplay is evident in many scenes, and script demands it too. Aishwarya nair was also impressive as Priya. All the supporting cast also did well. But the show stealer was sharafuddeen. His role was a shocker to me! (his career best one indeed) If the orginal strawdogs like I remarked before is a homeinvasion thriller, which has some elements of horror too, Varathan is quite different especially in its approach towards the subject. The last 30 minutes of varathan is filled with a lot of crowd pleasing (goosebumps!) theatre moments! In fact , the preclimax and climax had literally changed the fate of movie in boxoffice. To me, Varathan is the career best work of Amal Neerad. He has succeeded in building up tension or suspense element in the first half without compromising the coreplot and reserved the best of action for last (Smart indeed!). Moral policing- the central idea of Varathan is never seemed to forced and kudos to makers for that ! Little swayamps’ DOP is brilliant and Sushin Shyams’ BGM had played a part in elevating many scenes. (Someone in social media drew parallels with Anirudh!) This doesnot mean Varathan is one thriller without flaws! Firstly, it takes a lot of time to establish its plot. Even with a 130 minutes running time, this should have been taken care of. Secondly, there are some loose characterizations which Amal fails to craft properly despite his stylish making. Thirdly, it lost/waters down the raw feel of orginal film, which is something i didnt like. Overall, Varathan is a good thriller with many edge of the seat moments. Even for someone like me, who have watched both versions of strawdogs, Varathan is a decent to good watch. 3.5/5 I am not sure about the extent of boxoffice impact, as there is some adult content as well. But from the crowd response, i think this one is a safe bet at boxoffice!
