Lima: Anti-government protests in Peru. 17 protesters were killed in clashes with security forces. More than 100 people were injured. The protest was carried out by villagers who were supporters of Pedro Castillo, the president of Peru. Protesters and security officials clashed near the airport in the city of Julica, near the Bolivian border. A 17-year-old boy was killed in the encounter here. Several people were also killed in the firing during the protest blocking the highway in Chukuido. According to reports, protests took place in 13 percent of the country’s regions.
Dina Boluarte had permitted to hold the general elections to be held early in 2026 and to conduct a judicial inquiry into whether the security forces had used excessive power. But they could not resist the nationwide protests. The protests are demanding the release of Pedro Castillo, the ousting of the current president, Dina Boluvarte, and early elections. In December, Pedro Castillo was arrested and imprisoned during an attempt to legally dissolve Congress. The Boluguarte government claims that Bolivian leader Evo Morales is behind the country’s protests.
Castillo is serving 18 months in pretrial detention. Protesters in Peru set up new blockades and demonstrations spread to several regions. Calls for the dissolution of Congress and a change in the constitution are growing stronger across the country. Recent polls have shown that nine in ten disapprove of Peru’s legislation amid years of political scandals and instability. In this situation, the demands for fresh elections are getting stronger.
7: Couldn’t connect well with the emotional scenes.
8: Predictability of scenes.
•ONE WORD: A disappointing family action drama.
•STORY IDEA:
Rajendran (Sarath Kumar) is a big business tycoon and he has three sons. His younger son Vijay Rajendran (Vijay) is not on good terms with his father, so he stays aways from his parents and family. Vijay has two elder brothers and he loves his mother very much. Vijay lives by listening to his heart, he doesn’t follow his father’s path and he has no interest in his father’s business empire. So Vijay’s bold decision will lead to conflict between Vijay and his father. Soon due to some unexpected events, Vijay will be forced to take his father’s business ahead of his elder brothers and this will make differences between the brothers. So why did Vijay take his father’s business, how can Vijay solve the problems with his elder brothers and how Vijay stops his business enemies is what the story of the film is trying to convey.
•DETAILED REVIEW:
The film Varisu is directed by Vamshi Paidipally who also writes the story and screenplay. Along with him, writers like Hari, and Ahishor Solomon joined to make the screenplay and storyline. The movie is produced by Dil Raju and Sirish under Sri Venkateswara Creations and PVP pictures. Also, Seven Screen Studio and Red Giant Movies handle the distribution and with a running time of 167 minutes the film is currently running in theatres.
Honestly speaking more than a Tamil film I felt Varisu was like a Telugu commercial movie. The director Vamshi Paidipally is a well-known filmmaker who has produced many hits in Telugu industry. So his direction was having the pattern of a typical commercial Telugu film and that exact style was given to Varisu.
And it was the main drawback of Varisu so overall I found the movie uninteresting because the movie was like trying hard to adapt into a Tamil commercial movie style. The movie is having a lengthy duration of nearly three hours but due to the gigantic performance of Vijay the movie will keep us hooked till the end. While you’re watching the film we can inherit the fact that the situations and circumstances written by the writers in the script reminded me of the formulas of many Telugu action films. So the all-around final output of Varisu was like the blend of many Telugu movies which is enriched with the usual gimmicks of a Vijay film.
Varisu is a family-oriented subject, it has sentimental scenes, family values, misunderstandings in families, jealousy between family members, trust issues, and love of father and son and the emotion of mother and son are crammed into the whole screenplay. So the intention of the director Vamshi Paidipally was to make a complete family-packed movie but the ultimate result in his writing and direction haven’t satisfied me enough. It is because the family emotional scenes exhibited in the film were not effectively written out and the scenes couldn’t connect properly. The emotional scenes were not having proper depth so the impact was less, most of the crucial family value scenes didn’t pass out a heart-warming feel. In between the comedies were also added and it made an odd dull look but in some of the comedy scenes, Vijay looked fine and hilarious. The most disappointing part was the mother-son scenes. I expected some better scenes from Vamshi Paidipally but the combination scene of Vijay and Jayasudha was too melodramatic. The bond and affection between mother and son was moderate and the majority of them looked too artificial.
Also the dialogue should have been written more carefully, the words were not having the power to engage my theater experience. I am not saying that it was bad but the dialogues went simply and none of them couldn’t felt memorable. Also after and before the fight in Vijay movies, we can hear some good catchy heroic dialogue but in Varisu it was average. The heroic stuff dialogue and the moments to give applause for mass scenes didn’t arise that much. So a proper vibe of a Vijay film was sadly not felt inside the theater , On the other hand romantic scenes between Rashmika Mandana and Vijay were unwanted. Her character was written out badly and their combination scene was dragging the movie. How they are falling in love was disastrous and I think she was chosen as the heroine only to have some dance number with Vijay.
Next, when seeing the filmmaking it was more like a high-budget television serial, the style and dialogue modulations which we can see in the family serial can be seen in the whole premises of Varisu. Hero trying to solve the problems inside the family, the parents realize the love of their heroic son, the conflicts with inside members of the hero’s family and how the hero solves it with ‘passam’ and fights is beautifully presented in an overdramatic serial format. When seeing the previous films of Vamshi Paidipally this teleserial level of filmmaking was never felt, but in Varisu the whole film was like seeing a high-budget mega-family serial. To give more rich appealing visual beauty, the kind of VFX which we can see in the film will blow your mind, it was that much unrealistic. I still can’t believe that a director like Vamshi Paidipally had added this kind of visual effects craps, the intro song and the in-between added visual effects were making the film look funny.
When looking into the acting everyone did their characters well, performance was good. The one-man show of Vijay was the saving factor of this sinking ship. He managed to give an energetic performance throughout the film and his screen presence made me sit and watch till the end. The dialogue delivery of Vijay looked usual but it matched the occurrences in an ok way. I didn’t get any lag while watching the film and it’s because of his performance, the usual gimmicks and style of Vijay can be seen in Varisu and it was not boring. His comedies, action sequences and dialogue delivery fitted the satire of a commercial hero and he did his part well. The dance looked little but weak, the energy which we saw in his previous film was not seen in the dance steps of Varisu. So overall Varisu is a one-man show of Vijay’s cool and energetic performance and I’m sure his fans won’t be disappointed. Jayasudha as mother and Sarathkumar father of Vijay did a neat performance. Their role was enriched with many emotional scenes and they had done it authentically. The combination scene with Vijay had given a feel of mother-father sentiments and it matched the situations of the storyline. Prakash Raj did a nice job as the villain but the character looked like a typical Telugu villain. His character should have been written in a better way, a tough hero-villain fight was missing. Srikanth and Shaam as the elder brothers did their supporting roles well, the negative shade in their characters was acted out convincingly. The combination scene with Vijay had the bond of affection of a brotherhood relationship. Rashmika Mandanna as the heroine was having nothing to do, her character was weak. To dance with Vijay an actress is needed and for that Rashmika was chosen. She looked cute and her dance moves were impressive but to perform she had nothing.
The music by Thaman S was superb, and the songs and the background score were having an impact. The song “Ranjithame” sung by Vijay and M.M Manasi was amazing, the vocals and dance steps of Vijay and the chorus singing was nice to hear. Also, the fans were dancing and enjoying themselves in the theater so the song had such a big impact. When the song”Thee Thalapathy” sung by Silambarasan came the whole theatre went crazy, whistles and loud chants of Vijay were heard all over and STR had made a brilliant singing. Another song “Soul of Varisu” sung by K. S. Chithra is now on my favourite list, even hearing we can feel the love of our mother. The song “Vaa Thalaivaa” managed to give a decent intro for Vijay and “Jimikki Ponnu” by Anirudh Ravichander and Jonita Gandhi was good with their vocals and dances of Vijay and Rashmika. The background score was also terrific, the emotional scene was backed with some powerful tunes and it was matching to hold the attention. The BGM during the action sequences was also matching and the heroic punch dialogues of Vijay was also lifted with some tunes like “Vaa Thalaivaa” which made the fans applaud and whistle. The cinematography of Karthik Palani was mediocre, the frames were nice but the camera movement and placement during the action sequence lacked to give a visual punch. The visuals of the action were not that much looking stylish but the closeup frames looked good. The emotional scenes of the actors were nicely captured and it made the ambience of the film into a family mood. The editing was poor, for a better engaging theatre watch the editor Praveen K.L found had trimmed some parts. Many unwanted scenes were there and the first was slow compared with the second half. The VFX in the film was like an animation, no originality and completely unrealistic. Some of the art set done in the beginning to showcase the all India travel of Vijay was an utter failure, by looking at itself we can notice that it’s all made up.
.•CONCLUSION:
So overall ‘Varisu’ had given me a disappointing theater experience, I was not that much pleased with the direction and script of Vamshi Paidipally. He could have done the film better, Varisu looks like a typical Vijay film with his usual common styles. As a family-oriented film for me, the film looked like an overdramatic television serial crammed full of ‘passam’. The lengthy duration and predictability had also made Varisu weaker, still, if you are a die-hard fan of Vijay then undoubtedly you can take the tickets for Varisu. Therefore, to conclude it’s the festival season of Pongal so for a jolly time pass with your loved one you can grab the tickets for Varisu but watch it with less expectations.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will lift the restrictions on Hajj pilgrims. Saudi Arabia is lifting the three-year-old Covid restrictions. Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq Al Rabia announced that the age limit for pilgrims imposed due to the spread of Covid will be withdrawn.
In 2022, only vaccinated pilgrims between the ages of 18 and 65 were allowed to visit. The insurance policy for Haj pilgrims has been reduced from 109 Riyals to 29 Riyals. Insurance for Umrah pilgrims has been reduced from 235 riyals to 88 riyals. He explained that the Umrah visa has been extended from 30 days to 90 days and any pilgrim with an Umrah visa can visit any city in the country.
26 lakh people had come for the Hajj pilgrimage in 2019 before the spread of Covid. Officials said more pilgrims are expected to arrive this time with the lifting of restrictions imposed in Mecca and Medina. The Hajj pilgrimage will start on the 26th of this month.
Dehradun: About 600 houses were evacuated in Joshimath in Uttarakhand. Evacuation process started after a satellite survey. Around 4,000 people in the area have already been evacuated to safer places, the Home Department said.
Cracks have also been found in buildings belonging to the Army and ITBP units. A high-level central team headed by Border Management Secretary Dr. Dharmendra Singh Gangwar reached Dehradun and held talks with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. A senior Home Department official explained that the NDRF and the local administration are conducting surveys to get accurate figures.
The government has also ordered a special survey in all the districts of Uttarakhand. Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami’s order is to study in detail why the buildings are collapsing.
The district administration had earlier placed red marks on more than 200 houses in the area as unsafe to live in. Residents have been asked to shift to temporary relief centers or rented houses, and the Uttarakhand government has decided to provide assistance of Rs 4,000 per month to each family for the next six months.
Officials of National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have been deployed for the relief operations in Joshimath. Apart from the fact that 600 houses are currently cracked in Joshimath, there are reports that the land at the entrance to Badrinath and Hemkunt Sahib has been cracked. The government has divided the unusual phenomenon in Uttarakhand into three categories. It is divided into three zones as ‘hazard zone’, ‘partial hazard zone’, and ‘safe zone’.
The Supreme Court refused to entertain the petition seeking urgent intervention to look into the situation in Joshimath. The bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud clarified that there is no urgent need to consider the case. The Chief Justice stated that the elected government is in Uttarakhand and they will take necessary steps. The Uttarakhand petition was adjourned to January 16. The petitioners demanded that the case be heard today.
New Delhi: Extreme winter continues in North Indian states. Heavy fog was experienced in Delhi. Fog affected road, rail and air traffic. Railways informed that 260 trains have been canceled in the last two days due to fog. The Meteorological Center has warned that there will be snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal tomorrow and the day after. BS3 petrol and BS4 diesel cars have been banned in Delhi till Friday due to poor air quality.
Meanwhile, as winter sets in in Delhi, it has been decided to immediately provide hot water to all the inmates in the jails and to provide mattresses to the inmates above 65 years of age. Delhi Lt. Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena has directed the Jail DG and the Home Secretary in this regard. The decision in this regard was taken in the review meeting for prisons. All the 16 Central Jails in Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli will provide hot water for bathing and cleaning purposes.
Kochi: The High Court quashed the state government’s order banning plastic carry bags below 60 gsm. The court ruled that the state government has no power to ban.
A bench of Justice N Nagaresh passed the verdict. The court also pointed out that under the Plastic Waste Act, the central government has the power to impose a ban. The court order came in a petition challenging the state government’s move to ban plastic carry bags.
The state government passed the ban order intending to make Kerala a nature-friendly state. A ban was imposed on plastic bags below the specified limit, considering that such plastic covers do not decompose on the ground.
New Delhi: A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud held that the committees formed by various BJP-ruled states to implement the Uniform Civil Code are constitutional. The Supreme Court rejected the plea filed by Anoop Baranwal seeking to stop this move to implement the Uniform Civil Code.
The plea came against the backdrop of the BJP governments of Gujarat and Uttarakhand appointing a committee to submit proposals for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code. Dismissing the argument in the petition that the move to study a single civil code is unconstitutional, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked back what is wrong. The Chief Justice continued that the Uttarakhand government constituted the committee to study the Uniform Civil Code by using the powers conferred by Article 162 of the Constitution. Look what’s fifth in the concurrent list. This petition is not maintainable. The court asked the petitioner whether the Supreme Court should dismiss the petition or withdraw it.
The Chief Justice clarified that Gujarat and Uttarakhand formed committees to frame a single civil code. Article 162 of the Constitution indicates how much power the legislature gives to the states. The Chief Justice added that the creation of a committee itself cannot be questioned because it is unconstitutional. On Friday, in a plea by a BJP leader, the central government had stated in the Supreme Court that the legislatures have the power to make uniform laws on matters such as marriage, divorce, alimony, and inheritance. The bench headed by the Chief Justice upheld this.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, who appeared for the Centre, said that the petition filed by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyaya should not be considered by the Supreme Court and the legislative assemblies would decide the matter.
Upholding this argument, the Chief Justice opined that the matter is within the jurisdiction of the legislatures and should be decided by Parliament. The BJP leader demanded that the Supreme Court instructed the Law Commission to submit a report on the demand for the unification of marriage and divorce laws. At the same time, the advocate appearing for the Muslim petitioner, Adv. Huzaifa Ahmadi said that since the laws of marriage and divorce are in the Muslim Personal Law, which is possible for the husband and wife to marry and divorce when they want, they do not need a unified law. The Chief Justice responded that they were not talking about that but in a broader sense.
Kochi; GST sent a notice to star organization AMMA. The notice comes after it was found that the GST turnover of Rs 8.34 crore was concealed.
The AMMA was also asked to pay Rs 4 crore as tax, interest, and penalty. The irregularity was found during the GST department’s inspection. The irregularity is in the AMMA’s account for the period 2018-2022.
Despite the introduction of GST in 2017, AMMA took registration in 2022. AMMA was ready to get the registration after the GST department issued the summons. The GST department found that the AMMA had done transactions for five years without collecting GST.
The organization was registered as a charitable institution. But income is also earned from stage shows. AMMA office-bearers said that they will give a reply to the authorities soon.
Kottayam: K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts to be closed till January 15, District Collector Dr. PK Jayashree ordered. Officials informed that the order will not apply to the previously scheduled exams. Last month, due to strong student agitation, the institute was ordered to be closed for two weeks.
Following allegations of caste discrimination, sabotage of reservation in admissions and denial of facilities to students, the students had started a strike demanding the resignation of the director of the institute.
A two-member high-level commission was appointed on the instructions of the Chief Minister to study the issues in the institute and submit a report amid strong protests. An inquiry commission appointed by the government had reached the campus and collected information. The commission also took statements from students and sanitation workers who faced discrimination.
Kottayam: After the owner of Malappuram Kuzhimanthi Hotel Latif was arrested in connection with the death of a nurse named Rashmi Raj due to food poisoning in Kottayam, the chief cook of the hotel was also arrested.
Muhammad Sirajuddin, a native of Malappuram, who is the chief cook, was arrested in Malappuram. Sirajuddin was arrested from Kadambuza in the Malappuram district. The police have registered a case of homicide in Rashmi’s death due to food poisoning and are investigating.
Earlier, the police had arrested the owner of the hotel called Malappuram Kuzhimnthi. Kasaragod resident I.A. Latif was arrested. Nurse Rashmi Raj (33) of Kottayam Medical College Hospital, who was undergoing treatment after consuming Alpham, died on January 2.
Rashmi developed serious health problems after eating the ordered Alpham. After Rashmi’s death, eight other people who suffered from food poisoning filed a written complaint at the Kottayam police station.
