Director Vijay, after his last venture Devi on the ‘spirit’ed activities of an actress, moves to a subject which has a social message in his film Vanamagan. Regular followers of films would know that this story is about tribal(s) and city-dweller(s).

It is a sad thing that, in the name of globalization, we are savagely raping our natural resources, the results of which are already being felt in various ways.  In this story of Vijay, he does touch upon this subject along with regular commercial elements.

What happens when a man who is completely untouched by the ways of civilization is forced to enter this domain? The answer to this is narrated in the first half of the film which gives a few lighter moments and also a kind of smooth slithering of the story into the second half. In fact, the first half is enjoyable where the characters get established and we also get a few chuckle-worthy scenes between Jayam Ravi, Sayesha and Thambi Ramaiah. Ravi demonstrates that the tribes know emotions better than their urban compatriots in the scene with VJ Ramya.

However, the film has its major drawback in the second half, which gets a little tedious with predictability and clichés. And when it nears the finish line, it is almost like we are jumping to exit the theatre.

Give Jayam Ravi any script or role and you can be assured that he is going to give more than his 100%. Vanamagan is no exception. With hardly a quarter page of words in the entire script, Ravi sashays his role smoothly like how he glides between the trees in the film with dexterity. Be it the action sequences or emotional ones, this actor is in his elements. For a debutante, Sayesha is good and is evident that she has understood her character well. Thambi Ramaiah delivers a templated performance and by now we are very familiar with his body language, counters or expressions.  

This is a Vijay (director) film and hence there would not be any dearth of emotions and family sentiments. But you still wonder the presence of Thalaivaasal Vijay in this. The way in which Sayesha develops feelings for Ravi is well written. That said, towards the climax, the scenes are straight from so many films that we have seen.  

The vast expanse of greenery or the rich interiors of the heroine’s abode, Tirru’s camera has captured them all in the best possible way. Harris Jayaraj’s songs continue to give us a déjà vu feel despite them being hummable. While a few are rightly placed, the song by the tribals appears to be unwarranted.

Totting it all up, Vanamagan does not have major complaints but needs more power to strike it big with the audiences.