Film Review 'Adithya Varma': Dhruv Vikram shines in this sincere remake

Adithya Varma is the Tamil remake of Arjun Reddy (recently made in Hindi as Kabir Singh) and marks the debut of Chiyaan Vikram’s son Dhruv Vikram. There was cloud of doubt over Dhruv’s ability to pull off one of the most powerpacked roles in Indian cinema, and this has been the most discussed topic recently. Added to this, the young hero was already being compared with his dad Vikram, known for his versatility. Has Dhruv done justice to character played by Vijay Devarakonda and Shahid Kapoor? Has Gireesaaya, who was the associate director of Arjun Reddy managed to recreate the magic in Tamil?

The 168-minute film begins with Adithya’s grandmother (Leela Samson) telling her friends about her rebellious and aggresive grandson, a medical student at an university in Mangaluru, who was grappling with anger management issues. In the next scene we are introduced to Adithya Varma (Dhruv Vikram), who is involved in a brawl during a college football match for being ridiculed by his opponents. The dean of his institution asks Adithya to hand in an apology and suspends him for a month. A stubborn and a self -centered Adidecides to leave the college. That is when he meets a demure Meera (Banita Sandhu), a fresher, who Adi immediately falls in love with. He changes his decision and takes a one-month suspension. Meera too likes Adi and their breezy romance with some good humour provided by Anbu Dasan makes the first half enjoyable.

Adithya graduates and leaves for Mussorie to pursue higher studies. However, his love with Meera grows stronger. He visits Meera on the eve of his brother’s wedding at her house and is caught by her dad while kissing her in the terrace. Meera’s father despite being Adi’s family friend hates him. Adi demands that Meera should get back to him in six hours or end her relationship with him. While Meera gets back to Adi, he is already drunk, injects morphine and goes unconscious for the next 48 hours. Will they get back together and lead a life that they wanted and will Adithya mend his ways is what the second half of Adithya Varma is all about.

The film completely rides on Dhruv’s shoulders and he has done a commendable job. Though the storyline is familiar, Dhruv has handled it well and has managed to give the story a refreshing feeling. His voice and his body language reminds us of his dad Vikram in Saamy. Dhruv’s command over Tulu is also impressive. Kudos to director Gireesaaya for avoiding misogyny in the Tamil version. In Adithya Varma Meera too likes for Adithya, unlike Shalini Pandey and Kiara Advani, who go through the heroes’ torment in the disguise of love. The flaws Adithya Varma has are the lengthy second half and Dhruv’s amateur smoking style. Else, Adithya Varma is a dream debut for Dhruv Vikram, whose role makes the film a worthy watch.