VEDAA is a predictable fare with a weak climax.

Vedaa Review 2.5/5 & Review Rating

Director: Nikkhil Advani 

Vedaa Movie Review Synopsis:
VEDAA is the story of a lower caste woman forming a bond with a rough and tough man. Vedaa (Sharvari) resides in Barmer, Rajasthan with her father (Rajendra Chawla), sister Gehna (Tanvi Malhara), and brother Vinod (Anurag Thakur). She belongs to a lower caste and has accepted the discrimination in the society. She is studying law and wants to learn boxing, hoping it will make her life better. Jitendar Pratap Singh (Abhishek Banerjee) resides in the same village and is the unofficial chief of 150 villages. His brother Suyog (Kshitij Chauhan) organizes a boxing club at Vedaa’s college. Abhimanyu Kanwar (John Abraham) joins as the assistant sports coach. He was in the army and was court-martialled after he beheaded a terrorist as revenge for killing his wife Rashi (Tamannaah Bhatia). Vedaa is not allowed to enroll in boxing classes due to her caste and gender. Abhimanyu sees a spark in her and trains her secretly. Meanwhile, Vinod is in love with a girl from an upper caste. Suyog catches them red-handed and a kangaroo court, presided by Jitendar, punishes Vinod. Yet, Vinod and the girl elope and get married. Jitendar kills them and is about to harm Vedaa and Gehna as well. The sisters run away but Gehna gets caught and is killed. Vedaa manages to escape and seeks Abhimanyu’s help. Abhimanyu decides to go all out to save Vedaa’s life. What happens next forms the rest of the film. 

Vedaa Movie Story Review:
Aseem Arrora’s story is ordinary. Aseem Arrora’s screenplay is peppered with massy moments. However, the writing has its share of blemishes. Aseem Arrora’s dialogues are sharp. Nikkhil Advani’s direction is fair. He deserves kudos for showing the caste atrocities, a rare aspect in Hindi cinema. A few scenes are disturbing but they help as viewers feel the pain of the lower caste population and how they face discrimination on so many fronts. Technically as well, he has impressed. The scene where Vedaa is attacked on the highway in the first half is taken from a distance and it adds to the impact. The massy scenes of Abhimanyu and Vedaa teaching baddies a lesson would be loved by the masses.

On the flipside, the film is predictable and there’s no twist or unexpected development in the narrative. After a point, too many cinematic liberties are seen in the film. For instance, it’s bewildering how Abhimanyu managed to escape from the temple without changing his appearance. The finale is too far-fetched. To see goons attacking a high court and cops don’t come to the rescue is just too much. In fact, the climax is the weakest part of the film. 

Vedaa | Official Trailer – Hindi | In Cinemas 15th Aug | John Abraham | Sharvari

Vedaa Movie Review Performances:
John Abraham has minimal dialogues and speaks through his eyes and fights. Performance wise, he manages to do a good job though he could have done better. Sharvari rocks the show and proves yet again why she’s a promising talent. She also gets to essay a well-fleshed performance. She is not helpless; she is a fighter and this would be appreciated by the audience. Abhishek Banerjee delivers a power-packed performance and also uses his voice to add to the villainous act. Kshitij Chauhan leaves a huge mark. Ashish Vidyarthi (Jitendar’s kaka) is decent and raises laughs. Paritosh Sand (Uttamlal; Abhimanyu’s father-in-law) and Kumud Mishra (Vedaa’s mausa) perform ably in small roles. Rajendra Chawla, Tanvi Malhara, Anurag Thakur, Danish Husain (Sunil Mahajan) and Kapil Nirmal (Inspector Purohit) are fine. Tamannaah Bhatia is dependable. Mouni Roy is sizzling in a cameo. 

Vedaa music and other technical aspects:
The songs are poor. ‘Mummy Ji’ is memorable only for its picturization. The same goes for‘ Holyaan’. ‘Zaroorat Se Zyaada’ and ‘Dhaage’ fail to entice. Kartik Shah’s background score is praiseworthy, especially the theme played when Abhimanyu is training Vedaa.

Malay Prakash’s cinematography is stylish and adds to the cinematic appeal. Priya Suhass’ production design and Ayesha Dasgupta’s costumes are straight out of life. Amin Khatib’s action is a bit gory and a few scenes would elicit claps and whistles. Maahir Zaveri’s editing is functional and the second half could have been trimmed by 5-10 minutes. 

Vedaa Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, VEDAA is a predictable fare with a weak climax and an unremarkable second half.  At the box office, it will struggle to make any impact.