BOTTOM LINE
Comedy Saves The Kidnapping Drama
OUR RATING
2.25/5
CENSOR
UA – Action, Comedy, Thriller
What Is the Film About?
Varun (Shivakarthikeyan) is a doctor in the military. He has a steady love life with his girlfriend Padmini (Priyanka Arul Mohan). Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, and they decided to break up. The story of Varun Doctor kicks off from the break-up moment when it is learnt that Padmini’s younger sister is kidnapped.
How Doctor Varun tracks the kidnapper and unearths a huge kidnapping racket? What happens to the love story at the end of the film’s basic plot.
Performances
Shivakarthikeyan shuns his usual flamboyant and chirpy body language. He adopts a more calm, poised, subtle attitude with a conscious effort to avoid his familiar mannerism. While the attempt is appreciated, it doesn’t yield results as expected, though. Shivakarthikeyan appears too stiff at times while trying to be measured and composed.
Analysis
Varun Doctor is the second film of Nelson Dilipkumar of Coco Kokila fame. Much like the debut, this too is a screenplay based film with a very thin storyline. It is all about finding and rescuing a kidnapped girl.
After a very normal beginning, Varun Doctor gets on track once the kidnapping angle is revealed. The real fun and drama start from that point. It is similar to the director’s debut venture in many ways. The issue is serious; the entire family is involved, leading to funny situations at unexpected times. While all this happens, the lead remains serious.
The screenplay is the key here. The narrative is a mix of investigative thriller elements and comedy. The clues to track the kidnapper and fun happening centred on it are neatly blended in the first. A couple of blocks are hilarious. They will surely leave the audience in splits. They are what make the first half a passable watch, in the end.
Unfortunately, Nelson Dilipkumar runs out of steam in the second half. Post intermission, things take a much serious turn. The fun is missing. But a bigger problem arrives due to it. While the ‘comedy’ saves the first half and makes it passable, it comes at the cost of genuine emotions. An emotional connection between the kidnapped girl and the family is missing.
What happens then is the emotions that are built in the second half come across as contrived and overdone. Simultaneously, everything else that happens takes a predictable route. The combination renders the second half weak and unengaging. The climax has its share of silliness meeting heroism, which further highlights the tonal inconsistency.
Overall, Varun Doctor works in the first half due to the comedy, but it fails to deliver when it most matters in the second half. The contrived and cliché narrative make it a below average fare.
Others?
Priyanka Arul Mohan is a namesake heroine. She has a song at the start but has nothing much to do later. She is a part of the family gang, but that’s it.
Yogi Babu once again stands out with his comic timing and is a significant relief in the narrative. The two blocks involving him (and Redin Kingsley) are among the movie’s best parts. Nelson Dilipkumar had given him a memorable role in his debut, a well. He does it here too.
Among the rest, Vinay Rai of Detective fame playing a baddie is alright. He doesn’t get as much scope here, though. However, he maintains a seriousness and threat that is required to make the narrative gripping. Milind Soman and Raghu Ram could have been better utilised. The rest of the cast is adequate even though there is nothing much to do.
Music and Other Departments?
The music by Anirudh is alright. Only one song comes under his typical style. He delivers with the background score, as expected. It is mostly good, with a few bits being better. The cinematography by Vijay Karthik Kannan is first-rate. Along with the editing, it adds to the slick look and feel. The writing is a mixed bag.
Highlights?
Yogi Babu
Comedy Blocks
Slick Production Values
BGM
Drawbacks?
No Emotional Connect
Routine Story (second Half)
Uneven Tone
Alternative Take
A better narrative with the right mix of fun and emotion in the second half would have made Varun Doctor get to the next level. The lack of emotional connection is predominantly the more significant factor affecting the overall feel. Nelson Dilipkumar should take care in that aspect to get the desired results.
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, Few Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Huge Reservations
Doctor Tamil Movie Review by Siddartha Toleti
