Vaazhvu Thodangumidam Neethanae Review : A bold story fails to make an impact with a predictable screenplay

Vazhvu Thodangum Idam Needhanae Movie Synopsis: A girl from a conservative Muslim family falls in love with another girl, a documentary filmmaker. Can they lead a peaceful life?

Vazhvu Thodangum Idam Needhanae Movie Review: There are not many films on the sensitive topic of same-sex relationships down South. Hence it is welcoming to see a film like Vaazhvu Thodangum Idam Neethane which dares to take on the topic. However, the film's central conflict, where a conservative family opposes their daughter's same-sex relationship, ultimately follows a somewhat conventional love story with gender roles changed. It would have been hard-hitting if the writer would have actually taken us into their world to show us the difficulties they had to go through in a more realistic way.

The film's protagonist Vinodha (Sruthi Periyasamy) is a bold documentary filmmaker who comes to a harbor-like area to document the lives of the people there. She collaborates with an influential leader in the area, a conservative Muslim man, and stays at his family home while working on her documentary. The leader's daughter, Shakira, portrayed by Niranjana Neithiar, is inspired by Vinodha's bold demeanor and starts developing feelings for her. Vinotha, too, falls in love with Shakira, and the two women's relationship blossoms. However, when the family discovers their relationship, they vehemently oppose it. How the couple navigates these challenges and confronts opposition from their family and society forms the rest of the story.

The USP of Vaazhvu Thodangum Idam Neethane is its bold attempt to tell the story of a same-sex relationship and the film falls short of making a powerful impact. Despite its relatively short duration, the film progresses to become a patience tester with predictable scenes taking up a lot of time. The love scenes lack conviction, and doesnt make us to empathise with the feelings of both. Also, the short-film like treatment reduces the impact further. The music, too, is a big let down.

However, the only convincing part is the screenplay in the initial sequences. The film starts off quite Interestingly by introducing us a to a guy called Irfan and his love story. Only after few minutes, it takes us into the story of Shakira and her past. The lead actors have performed decently doing justice to their roles.

Despite its bold subject material, Vaazhvu Thodangum Idam Neethane turns out to be just a passable attempt at telling a story based on same-sex relationships