# Vaazhai

Vaazhai (Tamil pronunciation: transl. Banana) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language children's drama film written, co-produced and directed by Mari Selvaraj. It is produced by Disney+ Hotstar, Navvi Studios and Farmer’s Master Plan Production. The film stars debutantes Ponvel M., Raghul R., Kalaiyarasan and Nikhila Vimal in the lead roles, alongside J. Satish Kumar, Dhivya Duraisamy, Karnan Janaki and Nivedita Rajappan. Partially based on Selvaraj's life, in the film, Sivanaindhan works at a banana plantation while going to school; however, he hates working there.
The film was officially announced in November 2022 under the tentative title Production No.1, as it is the first production of Navvi Studios, and the official title was announced few days later. Principal photography commenced the same month. It was shot for the most part in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli, and wrapped by mid-January 2023. The film has music composed by Santhosh Narayanan, cinematography handled by Theni Eswar and editing by Suriya Pradhaman.
Vaazhai was released in theatres worldwide on 23 August 2024. Upon release, it received unanimous critical acclaim praising Mari Selvaraj's direction and the performances of the lead cast.

## Plot

In mid-1998, in the village of Karungulam, southern Tamil Nadu, the primary occupation is harvesting raw banana bunches and transporting them to lorries, for which a meager payment of Rs. 1 per bunch is made. Two adolescent friends, Sivanaindhan and Sekar, are ardent fans of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, respectively. Sivanaindhan has a crush on his social science teacher, Poongodi, and even makes a fake promise when caught stealing her handkerchief. Despite being a bright student, Sivanaindhan is forced to lug banana bunches during weekends due to poverty. He and Sekar fearing the labor-intensive work sought excuses to avoid it. However, Sivanaindhan's mother insists he works to repay the advance credit she had received, pledging her son's labor.
Vembu, Sivanaindhan's elder sister, is in love with Kani, a communist and socialistic thinker who, along with a few villagers, demands a hike of Rs. 1 extra per bunch through their village broker, Muthuraj. The trader reluctantly agrees to avoid a work stoppage. One weekend, Sivanaindhan escapes from work by faking a thorn injury, leaving him to take care of their cow. However, he abandons the cow and goes with Poonkodi to the rice mill. Upon returning, he finds the cow to have entered Muthuraj's field, leading to a confrontation. Kani intervenes, losing his job as a loadman and being forced to lug bunches like the other villagers. The humiliation and his mother's tears prompt Sivanaindhan to promise that he would work without hesitation during the ten-day half-yearly exam holidays to pay off debts.
A few months pass, and Sivanaindhan's family struggles to bear the increasing debts. His mother sells their cow, further saddening Sivanaindhan. As her health declines, Sivanaindhan is forced to labor. Meanwhile, he gets selected for a dance performance at the upcoming school's annual day function. However, he can't confront his mother and unwillingly goes for lugging with his sister, Vembu, but convinces her and escapes from the crowded lorry to attend the dance practice with an empty stomach. In search of food, he attempts to fetch bananas from a nearby field only to be caught by the field's caretaker subjecting him to a brutal beating, but, somehow he escapes. Upon returning home, he's caught by his mother and runs away to avoid beatings, fainting near the pond.
When he wakes up, he finds the entire village in mourning, with around nineteen corpses, including those of Vembu, Kani, Sekar, and Muthuraj, who died in a lorry accident while transporting bananas. The trader is blamed for the tragedy, as he refused to provide proper transportation and forced the laborers to climb onto the overloaded lorry. Sivanaindhan, weakened and hungry, sneaks into his house to eat but is caught by his mother, who tearfully blames herself for his hunger, and his sufferings and laments over the loss of her daughter. But the starving Sivanaindhan runs away and falls unconscious in the banana field.
The screen cuts to an archived newspaper article from Dinathanthi, reporting the death of twenty plantain farm workers near Srivaikundam, who were buried alive under bananas loaded in the lorry when it overturned. A note follows, dedicating the movie to those victims, as told by a survivor.

## Cast

* Ponvel M. as Sivanaindhan
* Raghul R. as Sekar
* Kalaiyarasan as Kani
* Nikhila Vimal as Poongodi, a school teacher
* Karnan Janaki as Sivanaindhan and Vembu's mother
* Dhivya Duraisamy as Vembu, Sivanaindhan's elder sister
* Pathmen as Muthuraj, a broker
* J. Satish Kumar as a trader
* Nivedita Rajappan as a teacher
* Puliyankulam D Kannan as a villager
* Gomathi as Sekar's mother
* Aadukalam Stella as a teacher

## Production
### Development

The film was produced by Divya Mari Selvaraj and Mari Selvaraj under his own banner Navvi Studios. On 21 November 2022, the film's official title was unveiled as Vaazhai by director Mari Selvaraj.

### Casting

Ponvel. M and Raghul. R made their debut, marking their first collaboration with Mari Selvaraj. Nikhila Vimal was reported to play a teacher in the film while veteran film producer J. Satish Kumar and other actors and actresses like Kalaiyarasan, Dhivya Duraisamy, Karnan Janaki and Nivedita Rajappan appear were cast in other pivotal roles.

### Filming

Principal photography of the film began on 21 November 2022 and wrapped up on 11 January 2023.

## Music

The soundtrack and film score is composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his third collaboration with Mari Selvaraj after Pariyerum Perumal and Karnan.The first single titled, "Thenkizhakku" was released on 18 July 2024. The second single "Oru Oorula Raja" was released on 29 July 2024. The third single "Otha Satti Soru" was released on 5 August 2024. The fourth single "Paadhavathi" was released on 10 August 2024. The entire soundtrack album was released on 23 August 2024, after the film's release.
Later, the production house announced that the audio rights for the film was secured by Think Music.

## Release
### Theatrical

Vaazhai was released worldwide on 23 August 2024 in theatres. The distribution rights for Tamil Nadu were acquired by Red Giant Movies.

### Home media

The satellite rights were acquired by Vijay TV and was premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 11 October 2024 in Tamil, alongside Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, and Marathi languages.

## Reception
### Critical response

The film opened to unanimous critical acclaim.
Janani K of India Today gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Director Mari Selvaraj, on several occasions, called ‘Vaazhai’ his best film. He stated that it was the film he wanted to make first, before ‘Pariyerum Perumal’, ‘Karnan’ and ‘Maamannan’. ‘Vaazhai’ is a biographical film that explores a significant incident that changed Mari’s life. Mari is absolutely right, as ‘Vaazhai’ is his career-best film and a perfect answer to the trolls that targeted him." Haricharan Pudipeddi of The South First gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "Vaazhai, which is easily Mari Selvaraj’s best work, is a piece of art and there are no second thoughts about it". Avinash Ramachandran of The Indian Express gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "It tells the reason why some people are more purposeful than others. And while telling and showing all of this, Vaazhai is also brilliant cinema… and that is probably who Mari Selvaraj is. Anusha Sundar of OTTplay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Vaazhai is a delightful deviation that Mari Selvaraj took after making his previous films. Vaazhai brims with innocence and has a childlike quality of coming in terms with pain. High on quality, and beautifully emoted characters, Vaazhai easily becomes one of the best Tamil films to have come out in 2024, and stands tall in Mari Selvaraj’s filmography".
In his review for The Hindu, Bhuvanesh Chandar praised the film as a masterpiece writing,"Everything in Mari’s world of Vaazhai is meticulously-crafted from life, and at its centre is Mari himself, an inspired, fictionalised version — as Sivanaindhan a.k.a Sivanenjam (Ponvel in a performance worthy of national glory), who lives in the village of Karunkulam with his sister Vembu (Dhivya Duraisamy) and mother (Janaki). When we first see this child, he wets his pants after a nightmare, fearing the worst. For any other child, anxious bells would ring at the thought of going to school every Monday; but this was a Friday night. Sivanaindhan is petrified of the weekends, as he has to join fellow community members to carry heaps of plantain at a plantation, an assignment he would avoid even by impaling his foot with a thorn to get excused." Latha Srinivasan in her review for Hindustan Times praised the direction of Mari Selvaraj writing,"Writer and director Mari Selvaraj’s repertoire of work is so haunting that every film of is a piece of art that transcends the silverscreen. In Vaazhai (Banana), he presents a simple film through the eyes of a child but it is not a children’s film. Sivanenjam represents everything that a child does - innocence, joy, and happiness despite the poverty and despondent life he has. Yet the painful and tough experiences he goes through are all that affect the entire community. But there is also tremendous love, a sense of nurturing and the vibrant beauty of nature that this story encapsulates. The themes of caste, capitalism, exploitation and oppression are woven into the story very powerfully and subtly and that’s what is most striking in this film. Mari Selvaraj has given us a heart-wrenching film that is also heartwarming and that’s a big achievement for any director."
Writing for the Deccan Herald, Guruprasad D N rated the film 4/5 praising Mari Selvaraj's direction and the performances of the lead actors, particularly Ponvel. Describing the film as Mari Selvaraj's most tender and deeply affecting tale yet, Narayani.M of Cinema Express gave a positive review mentioning,"The banana plant is renowned for its all-round utility, from stem to leaf. Yet, when one plant dies after fruiting, its offshoots continue to grow—a symbol of prosperity. Vaazhai beautifully captures the inherent irony of how the underprivileged are doomed to be exploited and traumatised even at the hands of a symbol of prosperity."