Three things which didn't work for me in Vishwanath & Sons

Plot Summary

When a single father in his forties learns that his baby needs a bone marrow transplant, he reaches out to the child’s 20-year-old surrogate mother for help. What begins as a practical arrangement soon becomes an emotional journey that forces two people from different generations to confront their age difference, deeply ingrained ways of life, and growing connection.

Suriya and Mamitha Baiju in Vishwanath & Sons

Three things which didn't work for me

Although I felt that the film handled the age difference between its leads in a largely progressive manner, there were a few elements that felt unnecessary or repetitive. Here are the things that didn’t quite work for me in Vishwanath & Sons.

1. The whole Olympic shooting angle: The film opens with Sanjay Vishwanath (Suriya) winning a gold medal in shooting for India at the 2024 Paris Olympics. We are also told that this triumph comes after multiple failed attempts at previous editions of the Games. But apart from the introductory sequence and a few scattered scenes at the shooting range in the first half, this aspect of Sanjay’s life plays almost no meaningful role in the story. Neither his conflicted personality nor his larger ambitions seem to be shaped by this vocation, leaving us to wonder whether this entire track was really necessary.

2. Over-the-top cinematic fights: I am an action-movie buff, and I have always enjoyed a good see-saw action sequence where both sides genuinely struggle for control. My biggest issue with many films these days is that the action set pieces are routinely one-sided. The hero single-handedly wipes the floor with scores of goons while his entourage and leading lady look on in mind-numbing admiration. I have said this ad nauseam, but until we bring more logic, vulnerability, and unpredictability into our fight choreography, these sequences will continue to feel formulaic rather than exciting.

3. Character and story arcs that peak too soon: Sanjay, the billionaire, is initially presented as cold and distant, but the film is quick to reveal that he has a heart of gold, quietly working behind the scenes for the welfare of his employees. Maddy J (Mamitha Baiju), the surrogate mother, appears at first to have little emotional attachment to the baby she delivered, only to warm up to him soon after while revealing that, as an orphan, she has been yearning for a sense of family all along. She also happens to be present whenever Sanjay does something noble, and is understandably impressed by his chivalry when he takes on a gang of thugs who misbehave with her. I have no problem with films using familiar cinematic tropes to establish a character’s values or emotional needs. The issue here is how quickly these reveals arrive. By explaining Sanjay’s goodness and Maddy’s emotional vulnerability so early, the film resolves much of the intrigue around them before their relationship has had time to evolve naturally. As a result, some of the emotional payoff feels less earned than it might have with a slower, more gradual build.

Conclusion 

Vishwanath & Sons could have been a far more interesting film if it had explored the relationship between a middle-class man in his 40s and a vivacious, affluent woman in her 20s, allowing the age difference and their contrasting worlds to create genuine conflict. Instead, the scales are tilted so heavily in Sanjay’s favor that Maddy is given little reason to seriously grapple with the age gap before wholeheartedly pursuing him.

Ultimately, Vishwanath & Sons falls short of Venky Atluri’s earlier effort, Lucky Baskhar. For me, it even ranks below his directorial debut, Tholi Prema, which does a much better job of drawing you in through the conflict between its lead pair. Here’s hoping his next outing delivers a more satisfying result.

Until next time,

Your movie reviewer.