The title feels like half-hearted reassurance that the star of this film, Dhanush, gave his brother and director of Naane Varuvean Selvaraghavan, for a script no one else wanted. I cannot remember the last time I’ve seen the star this disconnected from any role he’s played. Dhanush is an undeniably charismatic actor, but even he can’t salvage this horror flick that quickly descends into an unintentional parody of itself.
Dhanush plays a double-role: the Kollywood favourite of twins separated at birth. ‘Good’ Dhanush aka Prabhu, is a doting father with an aspirational upper-middle class life. His brother, Kathir, is an abusive villain, incapable of empathy, soon to be haunted by his past. Enter a ghost. Really, that’s all the set up you’re given. Good Dhanush must come to terms with the existence of the supernatural very quickly, which he does by briefly enlisting a “scientifically-tested” group of Gen Z ghostbusters. Not that it matters whom he calls on for help, because ultimately, he will heroically save the day himself.
Save the day and save his teenage daughter, Sathya, played unevenly by Hiya Dave, is more or less the premise of the movie. For that, once the barely-of-legal-age supernatural experts have failed, Good Dhanush turns to Sathya’s psychiatrist played by Prabhu. Why this doctor meets his clients in a discount Batcave with creepy candles thrown in for maximum effect, is anyone’s guess. Not the best way to put terrified teenagers at ease, surely? Naane Varuvean moves from one inane gimmick to the next. Actually, even as gimmicks go, the film doesn’t use any of the dime-a-dozen horror staples like jump scares and blood baths. It certainly doesn’t try to rise above these to something more nuanced.
The film instead puffs its way through to the end with mediocre dialogues that Dhanush struggles to deliver convincingly. The Dhanush-Selvaraghavan pair up, which has happened after a long break, would have been one looked forward to by fans of the brothers. The two have delivered films like Pudhupettai and Mayakkam Enna that enjoy cult-status now. Those were films that drew you into their worlds through the unsettling darkness that surrounded the characters. Here, the darkness is all bluster. Good Dhanush, Bad Dhanush, Sathya, the ghost, the psychiatrist, the many side characters that pass through, even the director himself, come off sounding like they didn’t really want to tell this story. Fortunately, Yogi Babu puts in an appearance, in what can generously be termed an extended cameo, and his trademark comedy is all that offers some relief.
The director makes a half-hearted gesture at explaining why Evil Dhanush does the vile things he does, but quickly derails that attempt with giving this character all the requisite “mass” and tragic moments. It’s a testament to how poorly the script has been written if Dhanush, who has made a name for himself playing grey protagonists, leaves you feeling neither dislike nor compassion for his character.
Dhanush as Prabhu manages to infuse something touching as a father torn between being protective and letting his child just be herself. But so little effort has gone into fleshing out the relationships between characters, it’s hard to feel anything for this film other than impatience.
The build up to the inevitable showdown between Evil Dhanush and Good Dhanush is insipid. Every move both characters make is predictable. So much so, you’re hard-pressed to believe this is a Selvaraghavan movie. The single moment that offers a twist is the reveal about who the ghost really is. In the utterly listless run-time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, I could barely register that Yuvan Shankar Raja, no less, had done the music. Of course Yuvan does all that is asked of him to give eerie scores to the supernatural events unfolding, or ramp up the ‘mass’ moments with fitting music. Yet in a film so thoroughly formulaic, little is memorable.