Vaathi is an action drama written and directed by Venky Atluri. The film stars Dhanush, Samuthirakani, and Samuyktha Menon in the lead roles. The film is produced by Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas, while it is distributed by Seven Screen Studios in Tamil Nadu.
Vaathi revolves around the life of Bala Murugan, a school teacher, who finds himself in the middle of business politics in the education sector. In the beginning, Bala Murgan is sent to a government school to teach the children of Sozhavaram. When these students perform well in the exams than the students from the private institutions, Bala is sent away from the village. The rest of Vaathi depicts the efforts made by Bala to support these children in their education.
Dhanush plays the role of a school teacher with ease and balances the film with his quirky behavior. An actor of such stature being open for different roles is appreciable. Even in this film, he disguises himself as Raavanan, and Bharathiar with no inhibitions. Samyuktha Menon shines along with Dhanush despite her limited screen presence. Samuthirakani is kept busy with his usual template but with different dialogues. Other characters justify their roles.
The frames of Yuvaraj lift the mass moments of the film and capture the drama without hindering it. Songs of GV Prakash hits the right chords providing the delight of the situations, but there are issues with their placement. For the most part of the film, the background score elevates the mood while it distracts us at other times. The period setup is brought to life by the art director.
The message enveloped in the film is a big positive for the film due to its relatability. Most of the scenes are simple and conventional which widens its reach among the audience. The romantic angle is short and it is woven into the storyline. This does not loosen the grip of the screenplay. Dhanush once again playing an underdog kind of role does wonders for the script as the sequence of him leaving the village touches the audience through its genuine moments.
The film falls out of reach when the script becomes over-ambitious in its content. Dialogues fall out of place which reduces the grit of the story. The engaging factor in the first half is considerably less than in the packed second half. Single-dimensionally sketched characters don't help the cause of the film. Though the film justifies its Telugu flavor with the geography, yet it is far stretched into convincing the audience.
Overall the film tries to sell its message with conventionally accepted tropes which succeeds in most parts. The run time and the simplicity of the script help the engagement.