Vanangan Review: Director Bala’s film on sexual violence has opposite ideologies
Vanangan Movie Review: Director Bala’s Vanangan starring Arun Vijay, Roshini Prakash and Ridha is a film where the hero takes justice into his own hands. This film is yet another addition to the line of films portraying sexual crimes against women in an insensitive manner.
In his 25 years of career, director Bala has created a distinct identity for himself. His films are far from ‘ideal’ moral guidelines or political correctness. In most of his films violence or murder is a form of justice, while death serves as salvation for some of his characters. With 10 films under his belt, director Bala is back after the disastrous Varma with Vanangan, which is a remake of the Telugu superhit film Arjun Reddy.
Vanangan is the story of brother-sister duo Koti (Arun Vijay) and Devi (Ridha) living a contented life in Kanniyakumari. While Koti, who is hearing and speech impaired, does odd jobs to save money, Devi works in a tattoo studio. Koti works as a security guard at an orphanage where many visually impaired people live. An unpleasant incident happens and Koti comes to know about it. He adopts violence to get justice.
On the surface, director Bala’s Vanangan might appear to be a film where the hero is portrayed as a protector of women, seeking justice for the crimes committed against them. But, looking back, it is a film of opposite ideologies. When visually impaired women become victims of sexual violence in an orphanage, only Koti provides justice. Law or police do not matter to him.
Here is the trailer:
The way director Bala has portrayed the sexual violence with completely inappropriate close-ups is questionable. Now the time has come that films related to sexual violence should present it in a sensitive manner. Actually, directors need to learn the lesson of sensitivity. After Maharaja and Vettaiyan, Vanangan is another film that has joined a long list of insensitive films.
For those who follow Tamil cinema, Vanangan Naachiyar meets Naan Kadavul. With Arun Vijay taking the law into his own hands, you know how the film is going to end. In Vanangan, we have a hero who fights against sexual violence, but he is also a hero who beats up a woman named Tina (Roshni Prakash) because she teased him.
As mentioned earlier, Vanangan is far from politically correct statements. One scene shows people telling a group of Chinese tourists that they have spread the coronavirus by eating dog meat. Also, many statements take a dig at all religions.
Arun Vijay, as a man who can’t hear or speak, has given his all in this film of contradictions. Ridha and Roshini Prakash have played their roles well.
Arun’s performance and how the court proceedings work makes the film interesting. However, the way Bala decided to end the film with the death of a character once again raises questions about his intentions.
If you like movies where the heroes become saviors for women, then Vanangan might be for you.
