Vishwanath & Sons Movie Review [3.5/5]

Rating: 3.5/5

Venky Atluri’s Vishwanath & Sons is a warm and entertaining family drama powered by strong performances from Suriya, Mamitha Baiju and Radikaa Sarathkumar.

Suriya plays Sanjay Vishwanath, a wealthy Olympic gold-medallist and businessman in his forties who has stayed away from marriage because of his complicated past.

Wanting an heir, he chooses surrogacy and becomes a father. His carefully controlled life changes when his son falls ill and the surrogate mother, Maddy (Mamitha Baiju), enters the Vishwanath household.

The film is at its best when it focuses on Sanjay, Maddy, his mother Nirmala and the young child at the centre of their unusual family.

Mamitha brings infectious energy to Maddy, while her chemistry with Suriya makes their unconventional age-gap relationship surprisingly engaging. Radikaa Sarathkumar is another major highlight, delivering both humour and emotion with ease.

Suriya gives Sanjay a restrained and mature personality, successfully portraying a man who can solve almost every problem with money but struggles when confronted with his own emotions.

The film also raises interesting questions about love between two consenting adults separated by nearly two decades, although it doesn’t explore all the complexities of that relationship as deeply as it could.

The first half is breezy, funny and emotionally satisfying, but the movie loses some momentum in the second half when additional family subplots begin taking attention away from Sanjay and Maddy. At 161 minutes, the film also feels longer than necessary.

Despite these shortcomings, Vishwanath & Sons succeeds because of its characters. Suriya’s charm, Mamitha Baiju’s lively performance and Radikaa Sarathkumar’s scene-stealing presence turn it into an enjoyable family entertainer with plenty of humour and heart.

Verdict: Vishwanath & Sons is a charming and emotionally engaging family drama that works best when it stays focused on its unconventional romance and delightful family dynamics.

A tighter second half could have made it stronger, but the performances make it well worth watching.

Rating: 3.5/5