Vidaamuyarchi - Thala in Tblisi

 

Vidaamuyarchi

2025, Tamil

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith, Trisha, Arjun Sarja, Regina Cassandra

Mohan's Measure - stars on the screen, not in my review

It has been five days since I saw this movie and I can't seem to get it our of my craw.  Vidaamiyurchi doesn't even pretend to be a good movie, it seems to enjoy being horrible!

The story starts off simple enough, a soon to be divorced couple decides to take one last road trip to drop her at her parents' home.  On the way, they run into car trouble, but soon ending meeting a truck driver and his trophy bride, who come along to assist. 

That's where all our troubles began as we are whisked away into the deep dark dystopian world of psycho-villains, crashing cars, explosions galore, and the aged Arjun Sarja under the sheets with the trophy bride.  This isn't a movie, it's a midlife crisis.

What makes it worse is rather than being a trip from Chennai to Nagar Coil, the entire thing is set along a lonely two lane highway in, of all places on earth, Azerbaijan!  Perhaps because of most of us don't know where on earth this is, the cinematographers have take the great effort to turn it into a wasteland of long stretches of highway and run-down roadside bars; a perfect set for a mix of Mad Max and Dukes of Hazard.  

Wasting away are how the poor Azerbaijanis are depicted in this movie.  All of them are seen as decrepit, misogynistic old men who  are either drinking unceasingly in a bar, or are sitting outside playing cards.  The police are corrupt, the women are worthless, and the whole country has nothing other than dust and two lane roads.  But the cars, man, they are the best!

Forget Azerbaijan, this is worse than the chicken dance scene in Bajrangi Baijan.