Bairavaa movie review: Vijay's latest hero-worshipping venture is a shoddy disappointment

Vijay's Bairavaa is tailored to appease only his die hard fans

By Sreeju Sudhakaran
| Updated: January 12, 2017 12:49 PM IST

After delivering a blockbuster in 2016 with Theri, Vijay brings out his New Year's gift for his fans in the form of Bairavaa. The movie is touted as a mass entertainer designed to keep his fans happy. Bharathan directs Bairavaa, while Keerthy Suresh plays Vijay's female lead for the first time. Here's our review of the film... Also Read - Baby John: Varun Dhawan calls Atlee, Kalees' film one of his TOUGHEST ever; check deets

What's it about Also Read - Jawan maker Atlee and Varun Dhawan starrer new movie VD 18's title to be announced on THIS date

Bairavaa (Vijay), another typical gareebon ka superhero, works as a recovery agent for a bank, who has his own tactics to make huge defaulters return loan amounts. Like any of Vijay's previous characters, he is an indestructible man who can take down any number of goons at the blink of an eye. He meets and falls in love with Malarvili (Keerthy Suresh), a medical student from Tirunelveli, at his boss's daughter's wedding. However, she has some trouble with a dangerous businessman PK (Jagapathi Babu), the owner of the medical college she is studying in. His nefarious activities lead to the deaths of her best friend and her father. Now Bairavaa takes it upon himself to save Malarvili and her family from the bloody hands of PK and his dreaded lieutenant (Daniel Balaji). Also Read - Rashmika Mandanna to Samantha Ruth Prabhu: Most searched South Indian actresses on Instagram

What's hot

If you are a hardcore Vijay fan, Bairavaa might appeal to you to some extent. Vijay is at his crowd-pleasing best, doing what he does best - romance a girl, dance like a dream, pout one-liners while kicking ass. Some of the humour and masala elements will surely entertain you. The camerawork is fine, while the background score suits the tone of the movie. It's also laudable that the director tries to address the malpractices in private medical colleges, but the treatment given to subject sucks big time.

What's not

I want to ask this to Mr. Vijay through this review - sir, aren't you tired of doing the same thing in nearly every movie of yours? There is nothing you have done here that you have not attempted before in your previous movies. Your character looks like someone who was dipped in Adamantium the day he was born, and therefore no matter how many goons you face, we know you can easily trump them with a flick of your fingers. Thanks to this persistent trait of yours, we don't feel absolutely any tension at any portion of the movie because we know you are gonna easily win the battle between good versus bad. Come on, man, at least make yourself vulnerable for once. While I am no fan of your previous movie, Theri, at least it attempted to give a new spin to masala entertainers. Bairavaa doesn't even attempt to do anything new - it purely relies on your star power to help it get through the box office easily. Maybe your fans will love you beat the shit out of villains, pout one-liners, strut over confidently and deliver rousing speeches that has no place at all in this realistic world.There is a crowd-pleasing song too that has gyrating with a glam girl, while you stalk the heroine in another wedding song.You sell dreams to your fans, which some detractors say is to fuel your political ambitions, just like Puli. You have a sidekick in Satish, who appears and disappears from the movie as per the director's whims. Why, you even have a name that resembles a God's, while the rest of the nice people around can't stop but praising you. It doesn't help matters that you have foes who are dangerously one note, despite being played by talented Jagapathi Babu and Daniel Balaji. None of the fight scenes are innovative with one shockingly similar to Mudhalvan's petrol-sprinkling fight scene. I don't even understand why the villains even keep sending their goons like swarms after you - they should stop wasting their time, as well as ours by surrendering their arms the moment you enter the frame. The editor seems to be a huge worshipper of yours, as he doesn't want to cut out any scene from the movie, even if it means putting the viewers to sleep. Keerthy Suresh just has to do what she has been doing in Remo and Rajini Murugan - look pretty and fawn all over you - but then we expect nothing more from your heroines. She even looks uncomfortable in that foreign locale romantic song, the lyrics of which I forgot like the rest of the songs in here. I was given no explanation as to how a common man like Bairavaa can arrange for a fake IT raid at the villain's house or how he managed to escape from his chains, after one of the villains stabbed him. But then I should stop asking such silly questions from your movie. In fact, I was typing the entire review while watching your movie because I was sure I am not going to miss any twist on screen, when my eyes are transfixed on my mobile.

What to do

Bairavaa is nothing but a shameless hero-worshipping project, that is tailored to appease only his die hard fans. As a movie, it is a huge disappointment for being shockingly indifferent, and being a cruel bore at that. Bairavaa is the kind of movie Tamil cinema should discard like old 1000 rupee notes asap.

Rating : 1.5 out of 5

Stay tuned to BollywoodLife for the latest scoops and updates from Bollywood, Hollywood, South, TV and Web-Series.

BySreeju Sudhakaran
Updated: January 12, 2017 12:49 PM IST