Viswasam Movie Review

January 10, 2019

2 minutes read

Review Overview

Performances

Screenplay & Direction

Technical Aspects & Music

A punchy and enjoyable festive entertainer.

Viswasam is an enjoyable entertainer that should strike gold at the box office this Pongal. Despite being a formulaic commercial outing, it's a proper festival film that satisfies the mindsets of the target audience.

Cast: Ajith Kumar, Nayanthara, Jagapathi Babu, Baby Anikha, Thambi Ramaiah, Vivek, Robo Shankar, Yogi Babu and others

Cinematography: Vetri

Music: Imman

Editing: Ruben

Stunts: Dhilip Subbarayan

Written & Directed by: Siva

Produced by: Sathya Jyothi Films

Distributor: KJR Studios

Release Date: 10-01-2019

Run Time: 02:33:00

Mass commercial entertainers are always about the packaging, being the most important part of the film’s success. Even with a lightweight storyline, many commercial entertainers in the past have gone onto become huge successes thanks to the way in which the film is presented, with the presence of a lovable star. And if things go right, Ajith – Siva’s latest collaboration in Viswasam could go into the same list. Packed with the right amount of action and emotion, the film comes in as a bona fide festive treat that channels its star in the way we’d like him.

For starters, Viswasam balances its emotions correctly with the fight sequences and the usual hero-feeding techniques. This film wants to meet your heart more than the actor-director’s earlier combinations in Veeram, Vedalam and Vivegam and that’s where it stays different from the rest. Of course, there are five massy action sequences and theatre-worthy songs in the film, but the heart of it lies in the relationship between Ajith and his familial relations in Nayanthara and Anikha. It is interesting how the team decided to hide it so far and only showed us only the celebratory portions of the film in the trailer. The film begins with Ajith’s strong intro scene but then moves on to the story immediately as Siva stages every setpiece of his with a cheer moment and a tug at your heartstrings equally.

Ajith’s high and handsome presence is the biggest plus for Viswasam, as the actor has even tried a different style of dialogue delivery. Going the extra mile to entertain, he even gets really enthusiastic and energetic in the song sequences. Nayanthara as Niranjana is Siva’s best written role for an actress, giving her an equally impactful portion as Ajith. The comic tracks of Robo Shankar and Thambi Ramaiah work well, while Vivek and Yogi Babu dissappoint. Anikha and Jagapathi Babu are adequate, and that’s about it.

However, not everything works to the T. Viswasam is nothing more than a commercial entertainer with a very thin storyline. But at the same time, Siva remembers to keep the momentum going with scenes aimed at the fans and the family audiences equally. He could have avoided the extra melodrama in the climax though.

Technically, Viswasam scores good thanks to Vetri’s visuals which capture the streets of Madurai and Mumbai with flying colors. The entire framework of the film has been worked on with attention to a commercial entertainer with respect to the visuals, coming along with Imman’s BGM which is definitely one of his quality re-recording works. Even the songs work better on screen than what they sounded on listens. Ruben’s work is also important for keeping the proceedings tight, with the 2.5 hour runtime working fine too.

In totality, Viswasam is an enjoyable entertainer that should strike gold at the box office this Pongal. Despite being a formulaic commercial outing, it’s a proper festival film that satisfies the mindsets of the target audience.