Vedaa: John Abraham Shines in a Caste-Driven Action Drama with Mixed Results

Though a hard core actioner reminding you of the '80s; Vedaa touches the sensitive issue of casteeism still prevailing in rural India. That itself, elevates its otherwise wham bam mundane proceedings to a cut above the commonplace.

John Abraham plays a court-martialled armyman, who visits his 'sasuraal' to take up a job of a boxing trainer in the village. Not long before he gets embroiled in its dirty caste politics; his Dalit student Vedaa (Sharvari) is mercilessly discriminated by the chieftain (Abhishek Banerjee) and his gang of some ten thousand bozos. Just perfect setting for apna John bro to flex his muscles and go gun blazing...Crash boom bang!!

To be fair, the fight sequences are well executed. Particularly, the hand to hand combat just after Mouni Roy's sizzling item number, will surely satisfy the hard core action buffs.

After the disastrous Satyameva Jayate 2 (2021), John is in his element this time and deliberately underplays his character to pass the spotlight on the titular Vedaa played wonderfully by Sharvari Wagh. She is simply brilliant in displaying Vedaa's emotional restraint and the pent-up frustration. Sharvari's physical duel with her main tormentor drew claps at the near full Movietime Starcity, Matunga, where I watched the movie on Independence day.

Abhishek Banerjee as the main villain, is effective in his dialogue delivery despite looking puny in front of the hulk like Abraham. Personally, I would have preferred someone like Sonu Sood in his place. Ashish Vidyarthi and Kumud Mishra (in a cameo) lend good support.

The film's climax overstays its welcome though its intention of promoting caste equality and Dalit rights is pertinent and noble. The entire Abraham vs Banerjee action sequence could've been trimmed to concentrate more on Sharvari's emphatic monologue in the courtroom. Those constant intercuts get distracting after a point...

To sum up, Vedaa leaves you with mixed feelings. Its core theme has substance. But the incessant mind numbing action dilutes the impact...

Ratings on some key aspects* :
1. Acting : 3.5/5
2. Direction : 2/5
3. Music : 2.5/5
4. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue : 2/5
5. Cinematography : 3/5
6. Editing : 2.5/5
7. Costume Design : 3/5
8. Special Effects and VFX : 3.5/5
9. Action : 4/5
10. Production Quality : 3/5

#SNRating for #Vedaa : 2 & 1/2 stars out of 5.

- Sumeet Nadkarni

* - The overall film rating is not a simple average of all ratings on key aspects but a weighted average of the ratings where some crucial aspects (like direction, acting, story and screenplay etc) are assigned more weightage than others.

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#SNRatings barometer:
1 star = Poor
1 & 1/2 star = Below average/ Avoidable
2 stars = Average
2 & 1/2 stars = Above average/ Risk it
3 stars = Good enough/ Endurable
3 & 1/2 stars = Definitely worth a watch
4 stars = Very good
5 stars = Masterpiece/ Outstanding.

2024 SNRatings. 

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