#Vidaamuyarchi Review

#Vidaamuyarchi

2025-Tamil

Starring : Ajith Kumar , Trisha , Arjun , Regina Cassandra and Aarav

Directed by Magizh Thirumeni 

Plot : Arjun and Kayal, a couple on the brink of divorce, embark on one last road trip to Azerbaijan. However, their journey takes a dark turn when Kayal is mysteriously kidnapped. As Arjun races against time to find her, he uncovers shocking truths and hidden dangers. Will he succeed in saving Kayal and find out who is behind her abduction forms the rest of the story. 

Performance wise, Ajith as Arjun is terrific. He has shed down all his Mass Hero image and played the role of an common man perfectly. His performance especially in scenes where the Protagonist is vulnerable and desperate is just outstanding and shows the calibre he possesses as an Actor. Trisha as Kayal gets a very complicated role which if crossed a limit could've easily become something vulgar or anything, but her character writing and dialogues were short and sharp. Her performance was subtle yet powerful. Arjun as Rakshith is terrific on screen but somewhere felt that character needed stronger writing. Nevertheless his massive screen presence elevates this simple character into something wonderful. Regina Cassandra as Deepika is just fantastic . Her psychotic behaviour sequences are fresh and fantastic. Aarav gets a good role but unfortunately again the writing is very caricaturish. There are a ton of Azerbaijan Actors in the film who have done a good job. 

Technically the film is really strong . Thanks to wonderful Cinematography by Om Prakash. The way he showcased Azerbaijan's Vast Dry Landscape is visually stunning. Anirudh's Songs are decent but BGMs are really good. The Vidaamuyarchi BGM makes climax sequence more powerful. Editing by Sreekanth was good in 1st Half while some Sequences in 2nd half felt like they could've easily trimmed it.

The First Half of the movie begins with the Introduction of the Characters of Arjun & Kayal. While instead of focusing on the their romance, the first few minutes focuses on the characters post marriage life and the sequences leading to the present. All these portions are short yet effective. Special mention to AK who looks damn handsome in young looks . The First Half travels on a very normal note without much deviation or hype. Everything moves very organically connecting each and every scene. The Film doesn't lag much in First Half as the movie moves very fast. The Minor Reveal in the Interval alone felt forced for Shock value.

Post the Interval, the film dips lightly as the film becomes slightly slow with the pace. While there are some reveals here and there , none of them majorly excite the audience till the Hummer Sequence. There is a 10 min Hummer Fight Sequence that is brilliantly choreographed and staged. It is Technical Brilliance. From there the film again takes off and goes into climax fight. Somewhere it feels like maybe the climax was rushed but the conclusion was satisfying as it ties most of the knots opened in the first half.

Talking about the films Negatives, the film majorly gets some negatives in the Second Half only. While the Second half is good , there are many minor sequences which could've been easily avoided and cut to make the runtime even more crispier. Also the Timeline of present events seemed very random. The entire story seems like it takes place on one single day but we see characters travelling 30-50 kms with few mins makes it kinda unbelievable (I know this is not a major negative, but atleast they could've made the story happening across a span of 24-48 hrs to make it even more believable). The Stunt choreography was great, but at some places seemed very much simplified which increased the stunt durations which could've been choreographed better or edited shorter. Also there will be one particular standout scene in every Magizh Movies (Interval Scene in Meaghamann, Climax reveal in Thadam , Station scene in Kalaga Thalaivan) , unfortunately nothing is there of that sorts in this film. 

Coming to Writer Director Magizh Thirumeni, the film is a Remake of English film "Breakdown" and Magizh brilliantly adapts it in a sensible way. While I have not seen Breakdown, apparently they've taken the core alone and spun something new around it. While the adaptive writing is brilliant and sticks to the genre truly , the film lacks something that stops it from becoming a masterpiece. While Magizh sensibly handles a very sensitive topic, his emphasize on Emotions kind of overshadows the thriller and action aspects of the film. While the film's core emotions work and we do connect with the Protagonist's desperation and fears , the lack of compelling situations makes us disconnect sometimes. The Trope of an Ordinary Man in Extraordinary Situations is handled perfectly, the film required more tighter knit second half and few edits here and there. 

Highlights:

1) Sawadeeka Song

2) Arjun Intro Scene and Interval 

3) Hummer Sequence 

4) Pathikichu Song & Climax Fight

Overall: Vidaamuyarchi is a Technically Brilliant Straightforward Thriller film that doesn't deviate from the core and is shouldered by an Terrific In- form Ajith. A true blue Hollywood stylish thriller that might not work for everybody(especially for those expecting commercial aspects) but will definitely work for Thriller Genre fans.

Rating : 3.25-3.5/5

Television Rights : -

Digital Rights : Netflix