Film with a message, packed with a solid punch

Story: When a Dalit girl with aspirations of becoming a boxer faces obstacles and oppression of her family members, she resolves to fight for her rights. And in the process, forges a bond with an unlikely ally, who joins her in her crusade.

Review: When Vedaa (Sharvari) signs up for a boxing training camp in her college, she is aware that this step will invite opposition from the village pradhan’s family, but she wants to take that chance. For her, boxing is the way out of her oppressive life in Barmer. The village head, Jitin Pratap Singh (Abhishek Banerjee), while maintaining a progressive facade, favours the caste discrimination and his extremely violent brother, Suyog (Kshitij Chauhan), is often seen ruthlessly bashing up those who defy the societal norms.

But when a court-martialed Army Major, Abhimanyu (John Abraham) comes to Barmer, winds of change begin to sweep in. He takes Vedaa under his wing and starts training her to become a boxer. And the two eventually form a formidable team, when the injustice against her family crosses all limits.

Inspired by real-life stories ‘Vedaa’ speaks out loud against caste- based injustices and crimes. While using a social message to propel the high-octane action, the film’s narrative (Aseem Arora) harks back to the Hindi movies of the 90s – high on drama, raw action (which is one of the highlights of the film), songs interspersed during tension and turning points in the story.

John Abraham as Abhimanyu is a man of few words, but his punches and kicks that come flying fast and furious do all the talking. The film plays to his strengths and scores high on stunts and he is every bit the action-star we’ve been looking forward to on screen. Sharvari in the title role, is raw and unhinged, holding her own very well in emotionally charged scenes. As the resolute Vedaa (who is called Fighter Vedaa by her sister), unwilling to give up, she is quite impressive. Abhishek Banerjee channels his menacing side in this role to fight the protagonist.

The film’s gritty texture and tension are well-etched out and so are some of the evocative scenes. And songs like ‘Zaroorat Se Zyada’ blend in well to the mood. But a few notes in the film don’t ring true – especially the long drawn out and convoluted climax, a couple of oddly inserted songs and some scenes come across as staged. Many portions are predictable, and follow the formulaic route, but the hardcore action sequences, especially in the second half, keep the adrenaline rush going.

Nikkhil Advani serves up a massy, masala movie with a message and whistle-worthy action.