Living up to the promise is not always easy but Vamshi Paidipally’s Pongal offering Varisu, headlined by Thalapathy Vijay and Rashmika Mandanna, does that without much ado. We get to see exactly what was promised earlier in the trailer — a wholesome family entertainer where Vijay charms the audience with his signature one-liners, audacious dance moves and terrific stunts.

A King Lear-inspired plotline

Lightly touching on William Shakespeare’s King Lear, Varisu revolves around patriarchal business tycoon Rajendran (Sarathkumar) and his three sons. While two of the sons follow in their papa’s footsteps in running the business empire, Rajendran’s youngest son, Vijay (played by Thalapathy Vijay), is a free-thinker who gets disowned by his father. But the two elder sons are not the doting offspring that Rajendran thought them to be — they do not bat an eyelid before selling out their father’s hard-earned company in order to save their own skin. When Rajendran is diagnosed with cancer, he has no other option but to fall back on Vijay to save his business and reunite the family.

Vijay carries the film on his shoulders

Varisu keeps us engaged with the tried-and-tested formula of getting Thalapathy Vijay to turn on his charm as much as possible. And Vijay obliges, bringing the house down every time with his usual quirks and quips. There is one particularly funny scene where he prevents a hostile takeover of his father’s company by blackmailing the board members.

Apart from slaying in his comic avatar, Vijay packs in some real punches too and delivers them right, left and centre, making quite a number of bad guys fly across the air without caring much for gravity.

Romance takes a back seat

Despite the presence of Rashmika Mandanna, this action entertainer clocking a runtime of two hours and 50 minutes does not seriously consider giving love a chance. Rashmika, who plays Vijay’s lady love, appears on screen only when the makers feel the need to ease the tension with a song-and-dance routine. There is no chemistry between VIjay and Rashmika as our hero is either busy with his sidekick delivering funny punchlines or beating the hell out of the bad guys.

Foot-tapping music is a bonus

It would be hard to imagine a film headlined by Vijay without some wholesome foot-tapping numbers. Composed by Thaman S, the songs of Varisu are already topping the charts. A mix of soulful tunes and vibrant beats, the songs are high on energy. The album is also a nod to Vijay’s past chartbusters. Whether it’s Vaa Thalaivaa, sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Karthik and Arvindh Srinivasan, or the emotional Soul of Varisu, sung by KS Chitra, Thaman’s compositions add an element of tadka to Vamshi’s storytelling.