Here is the complete film review of ‘Vedaa‘, directed by Nikkhil Advani starring Sharvari, John Abraham, Abhishek Banerjee, Kshitij Chauhan and Ashish Vidyarthi. Read on…
Overall Rating : 2.5/5
Plot : The journey of a young woman Vedaa Berwa, played by Sharvari who faces and resists a repressive system against portrayal of an antagonist (Abhishek Banerjee). Comes in, Major Abhimanyu Kanwar played by John Abraham who has his own traumatic past which makes him bitter against the system who decides to train Vedaa and let her be the fighter in her own quest for hope and justice.
The film which is an action-drama has it is heart and intent at the right place but lacks originality and the quality to keep you hooked. The silver lining is the brilliant Sharvari who is enjoying a great form currently as an actor. It is a brave film on Dalit rights which is a matter of grave concern in our country since always.
What We Loved : Sharvari plays Vedaa, the titular character who is the crux of the whole film’s conflict. Sharvari who has had recent successes both in the theatrical and the OTT space does extremely well and brings out extreme believability in playing out a character who is a victim as well a fighter. The determined actor who plays a young Dalit woman projects her struggle for dignity and equality in an extremely resilient manner.
What We Liked : The fact that the film bravely addresses the Dalit rights and how they are made to feel miserable and are belittled for the most stupid reason, ie, the prevalent caste-system is exactly why we say that the film has a noble intent. Also, the film signifies the true meaning of feminism as Vedaa is the one who wants to fight and take a stand for herself which she eventually does. Abhimanyu (John Abraham) guides and assists her but wants her to take the final step away from his support. Also, Kshitij Chauhan who plays a young privileged brat who is born in the upper caste shines in his menacing role of Suyog Pratap Singh does extremely well where he just makes the audience angry and that is a win for an actor.
What We Didn’t Like : John Abraham as Abhimanyu is the weakest link of the movie. His performance is below average and he keeps a redundant stoic expression throughout whether he is grieving, coaching, expressing or talking. This comes as a surprise because John was the superior performer in his last release, Pathaan where he killed it with both his shades an as actor and expressions. The climax of the film is also beyond a sane understanding and the audience was simply waiting for the film to get over as it was not just predictable but also dragged. Lastly, everytime John’s character said ‘Tathastu’, the audience either cringed hard or laughed hence keeping the audience away from believability of an Army Major.
Conclusion : If you are rooting for Sharvari as an artist, Vedaa is your film otherwise it is an easy skip. The film is dragged at times and takes a lot of time to tell the whole story where it could have been swift and smartly edited.
