Varun Doctor Movie- Review

What the Film Is About?

Varun (Shivakarthikeyan), a doctor in the military has a steady love life with his girlfriend Padmini (Priyanka Arul Mohan). But the things didn’t go as planned, and they decided to part ways. The story of Varun Doctor kicks off from the break-up moment when it is learned that Padmini’s younger sister is kidnapped. How Doctor Varun tracks the kidnapper and unearths a huge kidnapping racket? What happens to the love story at the end of the film’s basic plot?

Performances

Performances Shivakarthikeyan shuns his usual flamboyant and chirpy body language. He adopts a calmer, poised, subtle attitude with a conscious effort to avoid his familiar mannerism. While the attempt is appreciated, it doesn’t yield results as expected, though. Shivakarthikeyan appears too stiff at times while trying to be measured and composed.

Analysis

Varun Doctor is the second film of Nelson Dilipkumar of Coco Kokila fame. Much like the debut, this too is a screenplay-based film with a very thin storyline. It is all about finding and rescuing a kidnapped girl. After a very normal beginning, Varun Doctor gets on track once the kidnapping angle is revealed. The real fun and drama start from that point. It is similar to the director’s debut venture in many ways. The issue is serious; the entire family is involved, leading to funny situations at unexpected times. While all this happens, the lead remains serious. The screenplay is the key here. The narrative is a mix of investigative thriller elements and comedy. The clues to track the kidnapper and fun happening centered on it are neatly blended in the first. A couple of blocks are hilarious. They will surely leave the audience in splits. They are what make the first half a passable watch, in the end. Unfortunately, Nelson Dilipkumar runs out of steam in the second half. Post intermission, things take a much serious turn. The fun is missing. But a bigger problem arrives due to it. While the ‘comedy’ saves the first half and makes it passable, it comes at the cost of genuine emotions. An emotional connection between the kidnapped girl and the family is missing. What happens then is the emotions that are built in the second half come across as contrived and overdone. Simultaneously, everything else that happens takes a predictable route. The combination renders the second half weak and unengaging. The climax has its share of silliness meeting heroism, which further highlights the tonal inconsistency. Overall, Varun Doctor works in the first half due to the comedy, but it fails to deliver when it most matters in the second half. The contrived and cliché narrative makes it a below-average fare.