Vaathi: Impresses with a hint of creativity 'Vaathi', Dhanush's first Telugu/Tamil bilingual film, has released with relatively less hype. For "Thiruchitrambalam," which turned out to be the underdog at the box office, the same formula was modified. It is unclear if the same magic will occur again. "Vaathi" begins in the present, when three college students find a collection of video cassettes featuring a master (Dhanush) simplifying complex subjects in the 1990s. In the process of finding him, they come across Venky Atluri, the Kadapa District Collector, who tells them about Bala Sir and how he inspired him and the other students to put forth their best effort. A school employee of Educationist Thirupathi (Samuthirakani) is assigned in the flashback Bala (Dhanush).

Although there is nothing particularly noteworthy about Dhanush's characterization, he nevertheless elevates the whole movie with his performance. His subtle swagger is evident, particularly in the encounters with Samuthirakani. His portrayal of an idealistic young teacher who aspires to enlighten as many people as possible through his body language is fairly convincing. With her nuanced acting and sophisticated romance, Samyuktha, who plays Meenakshi, the biology teacher who first supports the hero before falling in love with him, dazzles. In several of his films, Samuthirakani has spoken out against education barons; here, he portrays one of them with equal fervor. In significant roles, Saikumar, Aadukalam Narain, Harish Peradi, and Thanikalabarani demonstrate their class. Ken Karunas plays a fiery role in the film.

However, the government vs. private school argument has been covered a hundred times in Tamil cinema and is therefore no longer novel. There are five mediocre scenes for every excellent one, and the writing lacks depth. The movie starts off preachy and doesn't let up until the very end. There are obvious contradictions in his performance. For instance, he can easily defeat a dozen goons multiple times, but when it counts most, he lets himself be overcome. 'Vaathi's' background score is one of the highlights, and G.V. Prakash Kumar's songs are already hits. Naveen Nooli has maintained a lively pace, while Yuvaraj's lighting creates a 90s vibe.

When we play one of the video cassettes that the three boys discover in the beginning, we see Dhanush's character Bala, also known as Balamurugan, teaching math. We are transported back to the late 1990s, when Bala was an assistant math teacher at Thirupathi Coaching Center, and they head off with the tapes to the District Collector's office. Because the government made a deal with private coaching centers to run the government schools, he is sent packing to teach underprivileged children in a government school. Srinivasa Thirupathi (Samuthirakani), the owner of Thirupathi Coaching Center, assigns all of the teachers to these government schools that he believes to be "third grade assistant teachers."