Vaazha: Biopic of a Billion Boys

This was an entertaining watch - one you can watch with friends and even family - but with friends you might enjoy the first half tremendously. ( Especially if you older than say 27-28 ).

First les talk about what works : -

1. Casting was spot on - the story happens across different time periods and all actors, especially the child actors of various ages played convincingly and the pair of father's and their son were casted really well as well. Especially the pair of Noby and his son ( all actors including child actors resembled him )

2. Period settings were on point ( the dress may be less so, but attention to detail was really commendable)

3. Cinematography and screenplay was organic and done with passion and finesse ( there is a fight scene near the middle which was brilliantly shot, similarly the stunning shots towards the end, inside the house, hospital - all were excellent.

4. Perfomance were pretty good - especially Aziz and Kottayam Naseer.

Now things that could be better -

1. Editing / direction could have been more crisp - the pace in the second half felt a bit too slow and few scenes seemed a bit of repetition and few elements felt could be elaborated or explained with more depth ( the story line around the 'sucessful' guy and his troubles and issues could either have been excluded or explained a bit more in detail - now it looks like a caricature and you don't 'feel' much for his plight due to this )

2. Ending was good and bad - won't go into details since it might spoil - but more depth could have given on what happens to the boys a bit more

3. Music and score was just ok - not really giving any lasting impression ( I cannot even recollect any song from the movie after leaving the theatre)

Highly relatable to 90s Malayalee kids entertainer. What could've been complete cringe behaviour and humour of the so-called backbenchers is saved and enhanced by some clever use of performances, editing etc. The inclusion of actual "Vaazhas" throughout the movie was fun. The emotional aspects they tried in the second half worked really well. The inclusion of different father-children relationships was great. Even the surprising empathy that is given to the issues of the so-called first benchers when you expect the movie to take the side of the protagonists was nice to see. However, I'm not sure how much this will work without a houseful audience.

Vazha - A laugh riot. Really had a good laugh this year in theatres after Premalu. All actors did well except Basil. He is repetitive and I had enough of him. He is omnipresent now in every other movie.

Joemon jyothir was exceptional. Expect to see him many more movies. Started liking him from guruvayoor ambalanadayil the only part I enjoyed in that, otherwise a dampener movie.

Post interval the movie moved to emotional track and thought they would insert "Nanma" or preachy mode thankfully the movie again pulled back to the comedy genre and ending was also not a usual one. Music was exceptional as well but sometimes it is too loud that some dialogues are not heard clearly.

This movie has plenty to go for, nostalgic moments ,comedies and sentiments all ; a Emotional rollercoaster !!

A lot of newcomers and social media influencers are in it ,every one shines ; siju sunny is excellent and Azees Nedumangad done pretty well and joemon jyothir is fabulous !!!

& hashiree ; Small yet impactful Role ! Its just a Beginning to his career !

Everyone has their own moment to spark ,Editing is highly Impressive !!

Scripting by Vipin Das is the Backbone ; Dialogues and all are very well connected and related to our Life and Good direction by anand menon !!

A perfect choice for youth and family to Enjoy !!

Super hit is Locked for sure !!

The story is pretty straightforward and this combined with clever acting and directing makes this movie an above-average experience. The talent-rich cast is one of the main highlights of this film.

The climax could have been executed more neatly, but that's not a drawback at all. After all, this is a pure comedy movie. There were lots of laughable moments. The second half was more engaging for me.

The veteran actors has done a great job. Noby Marcose deserves more roles like this and there is no point in typecasting him as a mimicry star.

Overall a good movie and we would love to see more films from the same cast in the future.