Vedaa REVIEW: Sharvari, John Abraham & Abhishek Banerjee portray gruesome complexities of caste system with impressive performances

Film:
Vedaa

Director: Nikkhil Advani

Writer: Aseem Arora

Cast: John Abraham, Sharvari, Abhishek Banerjee, Tamannaah Bhatia, Kshitij Chauhan, Ashish Vidyarthi, Kumud Mishra, Rajendra Chawla, Danish Husain

Runtime: 151 minutes

Platform: In theatres

Vedaa Review

Vedaa is the story of a Dalit girl – played by Sharvari, who aspired to be a boxer. However, she faces obstructions and oppression at the hands of her family and society. In her fight to take a stand and rise up despite the weight placed on her by the caste system, she finds an ally in the form of former Major, Abhimanyu Kanwar (John Abraham).

The film – also starring Abhishek Banerjee as Jitendar Pratap Singh (the village head) and Kshitij Chauhan as Suyog Pratap Singh (Jitendar’s younger brother), truthfully sheds light on the crimes and injustices cause because of the caste system. The raw action film with a dramatic storytelling style is punctuated with a couple of twists that will keep you hooked to the very end.

What Works

While the story and the way the makers have handled it are worth a round of applause, Sharvari, John Abraham, Abhishek Banerjee and Kshitij Chauhan’s raw acting is what will keep you on the edge of your seat till the end credits roll in.

What Doesn’t Work

The main thing that doesn’t work in favour of Vedaa is its length. The flashback and dragged-out action sequences make the 150-minute-long film seem 3 hours long.

Technical Analytics

Story

Based on true events, Nikkhil Advani’s Vedaa speaks about the injustices and crimes done to the low caste (Dalits) because of the care system that’s prevalent in society. This film is centred on the oppression Vedaa and her family face at the hands of Jitendar Pratap Singh and his family as she wants to become a boxer and her brother is in love with a girl from a upper caste family.

Editing

The editor of the film – Maahir Zaveri has done somewhat of a good and not-so-good job. I say good as there are a couple of scenes where the editing is crisp and to the point but then there are way more scenes where the sequence seems never-ending. In fact, you may wonder if the theatre is running the film with no interval. The 150-minute-long film feels like a 3-hour-long watch by the time you leave the cinema hall. Had the run time been reduced by 20 minutes, the film would have undoubtedly received 0.5 stars more from our end.

Vedaa Music

The background score provided by Kartik Shah is loud at the start and makes the violence more prominent. The songs – created and sung by Amaal Mallik, Manan Bhardwaj, YuvaRaghav–Arjun aren’t impactful. You will not remember them by the time you walk out of the theatre’s main gate. PS: You may get Game Of Thrones feels during some sequences owing to the BGM.

Vedaa Star Cast

John Abraham as former Major Abhimanyu Kanwar gives off John Wick vibes. The actor proves once more he is an action star. His portrayal of Abhimanyu gives off true fauji vibes and his dialogue dilevery is also commendable.

Sharvari is a superstar in the making and her performance in Vedaa (after Munjya) is proof. The helplessness her character feels owing to the oppression the Dalits face feels real. She’s given her all to this role and the tremors when she lifts a gun or sees her family hurts shows it.

Abhishek Banerjee is a versatile actor who can pull off any role and his performance as Jitendar Pratap Singh has proved it. While he starts off as a ‘good guy’, you will praying for his downfall in the end. This hatred for the character is what shows just how honestly he pulled off the part.

Kshitij Chauhan as Suyog Pratap Singh, Ashish Vidyarthi as Kaka, Kumud Mishra as Mausaji, and Rajendra Chawla as Mr Berwa all deliver performances that are commendable. They all are raw in their performances, making this small town story of the injustices caused by the caste system as real as it can get.

Conclusion

Vedaa is worth a watch in theatres and would have been a much more enjoyable experience had the editing been crisp and runtime down by 20 minutes. Sharvari is an actress to watch out and she’s only cemented this statement with her performance in Vedaa. John, Abhishek and Kshitij’s portrayal of the gruesome reality will make you flinch.

Hope our Vedaa review helps you in deciding whether or not you should watch it in theatres.

Watch the trailer of Vedaa here:

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