VARMAA

After a lot of dilly-dallying, “Bala’s Varmaa” is finally here and comes with a little bit of curiosity – What did the celebrated filmmaker do wrong that the film was scrapped? The question is all the more baffling once we see the movie – It doesn’t seem to stray much from the original and if you erase Arjun Reddy/Aadithya Varma from your mind, doesn’t sound half as bad as it was projected.  

The story stays faithful to the original. A modern-day adaptation of Devadas perhaps, but with a happy ending. Varmaa Vasudevan (Dhruv Vikram who appears great in some scenes and a little amateurish in a few others) plays a lovesick puppy, unable to get over the love of his life (Bengali import Megha Chowdhury plays Megha and is terribly miscast although scores with emotions), spiralling into a self-destruction mode.  

First things first. Considering that violence against women and children are at an all-time high, nothing validates lack of consent and our protagonist's scant respect for it. Likewise, though passing off as cinematic liberties, permitting the use of alcohol before surgery, smoking inside a college campus or little respect for professors can’t be condoned. The male saviour complex is also jarring.  

Several scenes mirror the original, right down to the BGM, not surprising considering Radhan who scored for the original takes up the mantle here as well and gives what is required for the film. Bala has construed the scenes as such where the leads have the potential to establish more natural chemistry but somehow it doesn’t happen, at least, not to a greater extent.  

Compared to the original, here the female lead has more to say and is not just relegated to be a submissive character. The male lead too appears much more humane and likeable in a few instances like when he pulls up a guy for objectifying women. Yes, we do see the irony of it but still goes on to show the hypocritical but layered character of the protagonist.  

Bala seems to have infused more humour, albeit of the dry kind and it works. Coming to the supporting cast’s performance, Easwari Rao as the maidservant and Varmaa’s cushion puts up a spirited performance.  

The film is under two hours and we can’t seem to say whether it is a good thing or not – since the version of the same film has been viewed three times before, you could say at times, it works since you know what’s going to happen and are thankful for the brevity. At other times, you do wonder if more has been left at the editing table – friends and Raiza Wilson’s characters look a tad incomplete. Akash Premkumar as Dhruv’s loyal confidante and friend makes the most of the character given to him and leaves an impact.

Few scenes distinctly bear the Bala touch – may bring a grin on some people’s faces and perhaps, an ounce of discomfort to a few others. Case in point is when we are introduced to Varmaa. All in all, Varmaa could even end up pleasing a few if familiarity breeding contempt is taken to be true.