Naane Varuvean Movie Review

The Selvaraghavan-Dhanush duo that has delivered remarkable movies in the past is back with ‘Naane Varuvean’. Featuring Dhanush in dual roles, the film has a musical score by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Prabhu (Dhanush) is leading a happy life with his wife (Induja) and a teen daughter. But his life turns upside down, when his loveable daughter is possessed by a spirit, which urges Prabhu to revisit his buried past, his twin brother Kathir (again played by Dhanush).

In recent times, Selvaraghavan seems to be so much smug-bitten by supernatural genres. In spite of his previous movie ‘Nenjam Marapathillai’ flunking with terrible reviews, he has opted for the genre again. In fact, the first half keeps the intensity building with the touch of James Wan’s universe (Insidious and Conjuring franchise). The teen paranormal investigators spark off some humor alongside Yogi Babu. Precisely, these are the moments, where audiences have some relief to laugh out. The interval twist that opens up the actual conflict and introduction of Kathir’s character brims us with high-level expectations over the second half. Unfortunately, the post-intermission sequences fail to retain the intensity. A lot of surprise packages were expected from Kathir, but the role doesn’t excite us.

The writing itself is a problem, where the storyline is too plain and predictable in the second half. Dhanush as Prabhu does a decent job, and his expressions are appreciable. While he effortlessly brings up groovy performance as Prabhu, Dhanush seems to have exerted a lot into Kathir’s role, which looks slightly artificial. Induja and Elli Avram have nothing to perform other than being the supporting artistes. The little kids have done a good job. Prabhu and Yogi Babu have nothing to impress.

Yuvan Shankar Raja’s BGM and Om Prakash’s cinematography help a lot in creating the spookiness and mystery of the film’s premise.

With lots expected from the Dhanush-Selvaraghavan-Yuvan trio, Naane Varuvean fails to deliver a promising project. On the whole, it’s a below-average fare that rarely has engrossing moments.