Story
Balu (Dhanush) is son of a driver and a teacher at a private educational institute. Tripathi - owner of the institute selects some non-performing teachers to send them to a government college in a village as teachers as a part of his private-government partnership program. Tripathi’s intention is to make sure that Government schools/colleges don't flourish so that he can make more money. Bala is an idealist who sincerely wants to do good for the society. He convinces unwilling parents to send kids to the school, he inspires the students and all of them pass with first class in the first year. When things go against his plan, Tripathi humiliates Bala, then tries to buy him off. Being an idealist, Bala sticks to his mission of teaching students. Rest of the story is about how Bala succeeds despite so many hindrances.

Artists Performance

Sir/Vaathi is an example of perfect casting when it comes to Dhanush. He has an endearing image in Telugu with his sweet and identifiable roles through films like Raghuvaran B Tech and Thiru. He made the character work in a big way with his natural and lovable performance. You can’t imagine anybody else in the character after watching Dhanush in it. Samyuktha is good as a leading lady and her role is limited. Samuthirakani plays the role of antagonist with natural flair. Sai Kumar is excellent as a village head. His character is used to show caste discrimination and the mentality of typical village heads. Hyper Aadhi’s role is limited to a few scenes in the first half. He is improving as a film actor from film to film in terms of diction and natural comedy. Aadukalam Naren is good as the hero’s father.

Story - screenplay - direction: Venky Atluri who handled mostly love stories with commercial ingredients changed his path and wrote an ideal and honest story. It’s about a youngster trying to change the education system without being unrealistic about it. We don’t get to watch these kinds of subjects anymore. The last film of such type was the Bollywood flick Super 30. Director Venky tried to address the root-cause of the current education system by placing it in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s which saw a huge change in the educational system in Telugu states where perception is changed to ‘you get quality education only in private colleges’. This film talks about problems at grassroot level where caste divides students at a very tender age. And how village heads force outdated traditions on people. Most of the film is told in a way that it raises empathy in us. However, there are few aspects where cinematic liberties are taken. One of the aspects being the villain character which doesn’t fit in such an idealistic script. Screenplay of the film is predictable (especially schematics of the villain). However, the director succeeded in showing the teacher's character with utmost dignity.

Other departments: Music by GV Prakash Kumar is an asset. Songs are good and background music is also good. Cinematography by J Yuvaraj complements the movie. Dialogues are well written. Especially the ones on castes. Editing by Naveen Kumar Nooli is fine. Production design is very good. Production values of the film are decent.

Analysis: Sir/Vaathi is a film that explores the education system dominated by private colleges which collect exorbitant fees. Plus points of the film is ideastic story, Dhanush performance, GV Prakash music and emotional sequences. On the flipside, there are a few cinematic liberties (especially the villain character). Both the producer Naga Vamsi and director Venky Atluri get brownie points for attempting a pure and message oriented subject without bothering about regular eye-candy commercial elements. This movie has heart in the right place. On the whole, Sir is a relatable film and is worth a watch!