Vaaranam Aayiram – and they lived happily ever after…
Vaaranam Aayiram Movie Review
There is a sequence in Gautham Vasudev Menon’s mostly autobiographical Vaaranam Aayiram, where Krishnan(Suriya) goes to meet his son, Surya(Suriya) in the engineering college hostel. The son looks up to the father, ‘my dad, my hero’ are the almost recurring emotions through the film. In this particular scene, Krishnan comforts his son, pats him on the back, gives him some money, and walks off saying, “we are both grown-ups now, son”. And Surya can’t hold his tears as the daily rush of hostel life surrounds him in the face…
One of the many poignant sequences in the film which underlines the joie de vivre or ‘life goes on’ theme emotion that Gautham has chosen to structure this film around.
Vaaranam Aayiram, one of the most anticipated films this year, for more reasons than one (big names, delayed release, some lost and found tale around the film reels, big budget), is a sprawling, breathing portrait of life. Life through all its ups and downs, relationships, family, growing-up, coming of age, falling in love, and falling in love again, losing one’s beloved, the pain of it…there is hardly any emotion or stage that has been missed out. Gautham captures every minute detail and nuance with a master eye.
After roughing up bad guys(Vettaiyadu Vellaiyadu) and ex-boyfriends of current love interests(Minnale), he picks up a story that spans 50 years and is essentially a no-fuss no-big-funda film. I saw Kaaka Kaaka as a precursor to watching VA, and felt it was a well made film yet doesn’t really break any new ground. I loved the way Menon handles parallel themes of romance and action but had always felt he is not really exploring or spending much reels into it. Anbuselvan, the tough-guy cop of Kaaka Kaaka with a soft core was a testimony to this affinity for a protagonist this variety. Vaaranam Aayiram explores this ambiguity to the maximum and almost paces it against a timescale of real life.
Surya(the son’s character) looks back at his life while on way to a rescue operation in the skies. The lights are dim, it is high up in the sky, and it’s a mellow affair with strong men up in the sky on a mission. Surya hears the news about his father’s demise. And as his fellow-mission men try and comfort him, he comes to term with the news as gradually leafing through pages of the past. We see lots of family scenes, his growing-up, even a part with a young Krishnan as he woos Malini(an effervescent Simran) 60’s style(rock ‘n roll, thick-rimmed glasses, roads with less traffic, a cleaner beach-Madras, Sivaji Ganesan films at single screens, smiling faces all around). The following portions establish Krishnan as a literal father-figure for him as he comes of age with college life, and the responsibilities that stare any youth of his age and circumstances in the face.
Some regular features follow (the first brush of college fight, the mischief that youth brings unannounced, a very Madras-song(yethi yethi), exams, supplementary, tuitions etc) but not without Gautham’s characteristic narrative pinch and an eye for realism, be it through close-ups or witty dialogs or jazzed up background score. Lots of well-executed montages here. As expected, Surya meets a girl, Meghana(played by Sameera Reddy with an ease never-seen-before) and some interesting sequences follow. Suriya, the actor(will talk about him more later) is extremely delightful here as a young charmer wielding the guitar, rocking the streets of Madras, stealing glances, playing the innocent yet mischievous son.
As it happens in a Gautham film, there surface some twists. Meghana is top-brass variety (state-topper, flying to Berkeley, Lucky and no time for love at the same time). So our man keeps his faith, with helping from hero daddy, sets up a small design firm(he is a mechanical engineer you see), amasses some funds(I assume), and with mummy papa ka aashirwaad, behen ka pyaar, a magically procured visa(watch this one out!) and a gigantic guitar lands up at where else, the Golden Gate. A cool song (faster version – Oh! Shanthi Shanthi) complements his beloved-hunt, he finds her magically (but of course as the song ends), and some good rocking times follow. You get a rocking song again (Adiye Kolluthey) and things couldn’t be better for Surya what with the living in the same room as my darling Meghna and all.
A sad twist happens and things go reverse gear for him. And more and more reverse. You see him go through some drastic get-up changes and the film goes from a family film to a Minnale-kinds girl-boy affair to a hardcore action part to a point where it has its heart back in the right place…
I had to stop myself from narrating the story because I feared it might make me uncool. And considering this is a film which runs well close to 3 hours, and a quite good and engaging film at that, you might as well want to catch it for yourself too.
Coming to the technical side, I haven’t seen a better Tamil film in recent times. The camera is just too damn good. So many technical aspects, and I am not even talking about the double-role affair. So many locations. A Madras of the 60’s, old-red color plump buses, the present day Chennai, San Francisco(a very nostalgic and retrospective highway-montage shot on some racy background score), the dirty dark suburbs of Delhi(after Dil Se, I feel this film captured it so well, a style now conveniently termed Anurag Kashyap style-gritty, dark, harsh suburban reality of an otherwise picture perfect and prosperous city), Srinagar(beautiful use of filters, ambient light, much like Yahaan) and the second half is pronounced with some of the best executed action sequences supposedly in the outskirts of Delhi(Haryana may be). This particular sequence is the ‘that very moment I discovered myself’ self-discovery point of Surya’s almost hopeless romantic protagonist-until now, and it simply turns the film upside down with its sheer mastery of technique (don’t miss the flute-induced background that makes the scene slither in with a spine-chilling thrill). It has to be seen to be believed. Wonderful placement of this sequence, I guess this was meticulously planned and not a sheer editing side-effect. And as it happens in case of all great men, no transformation is transformation enough without a heavy beard to go with, so our man Suriya also sports one with utmost ease and effect here.
Songs. All superhits. All brilliantly choreographed. My personal favorite was Mundhinam, and I loved it when Krishnan says those opening lines just the way I had imagined(Hi Malini..). Adiye Kolluthey flows effortlessly with a fresh-as-ever Sameera Reddy. It almost pumps iron in the film when it begins to drag a little.
But my favorite song in the film is Ava Enna. But that’s all thanks to Suriya’s Uppi do(you even have a ‘saare-drugs ek-interlude-mein-khatam’ moment).
Nenjukkul Peidhidum was always a melodious Hariharan number for me. Only now it is an even better woo-the-girl song.
Annul Maelae is Divya Spandana’s(Ramya from Julie for the uninitiated) song and is also important from the point of view of its placing in the film.
Performances. What do I say? Suriya’s Forrest Gump. He puts in an effort this film what any actor would put in for a good 4-5 films. Catch him in his phone conversation with his parents, or when he shies away from Meghna’s father in the hospital, or the entire Ava Enna song, or even the brawny avatar in the village-rescue operation or when he returns victorious in his rescue operation and can’t help looking at the kid reuniting with his father even while a mob is confronting him. The regular sequences are a cakewalk for him, and it is the genius of Gautham who explores the many dimensions an actor of Suriya’s caliber can explore with aplomb.
He gives us, in Krishnan, one of the most interestingly written on-screen fathers in recent times. Simran steals the show in her aunty excursion. She brings the climactic conclusive tone to the film and elevates the film from its genre-finding exercises.
What do I say about Divya Spandana. Sorry but I try but can’t avoid thinking of an alu vada right now. She was the weakest link for me in this film. A case of good film with one sore point. May be hers was a foil to Meghana(Sameera Reddy) and that she kept her character lingering in our mind but frankly Suriya felt kind of odd and uncomfortable and apologetic in all those similar sequences with Divya. Her character, though, wasn’t a bad one (sister’s friend, never-looked-at-her-that-ways types).
I might at this point mention that I am not the right guy to discuss all that might transpire in the conversations in the film, because I know squat of any Tamil word whatsoever. So at times I do feel like a buffoon when everyone else laughs in the theater and I can’t help but hide that you know I look like a fool expression off my face, but yes, anything for a good film on a first day. Though the film, as many other films from south, does have some Hindi and English bits as a gift for poor souls like me. In fact I was quite shocked and embarrassed at once when the villain in Kaaka Kaaka(Pundiya) happily articulates the famous BK word with the slightest hesitation in between many of his sweet-nothings for our hardcop protagonist in a heated encounter. This one is also for all the great discussions we have had over the last week or so around Tamil cinema. I must say I couldn’t catch up on all those discussions due to lack of films seen and some other reasons, but Tamil cinema surely has caught mine and many others’ fancy and it surely is looking upwards as of now.
As for the title, I know it means ‘the strength of a thousand elephants’ and I know the final elegiac lines are a reference to the character of a man being strong in the sense of taking on whatever life may offer a la ‘life is a box full of chocolates’ or ‘life is beautiful’, but I really can’t tell you if I can’t be proven otherwise.
A must see film; have time and tissues on your hand. Peace. And yes, please don’t remake it in Hindi!
Tags: Divya Spandana, Double role, Forrest Gump, Gautham Menon, Harris Jeyaraj, Kaaka Kaaka, Minnale, Ramya, Sameera Reddy, Simran, Suriya, surya, Tamil, Vaaranam Aayiram, Vettaiyadu Vellaiyadu
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Wow!!! AND it’s a Friday and no Hindi movie review so far! But a Telugu and a Tamil movie review!!!
He he. Boss this is the biggest film as far as occupancy and shows are concerned here. Dying to catch Avakai Biryani too.
Was waiting for the first VA review here…Tx Tushar…
Will have to watch this one soon….
Va disappointed me. Gautham is a director wit immense talent, but he falls short of justifying it in each of his films. Movie as a whole is much better than the day to day crap indian movies. Surya is probably the only actor who can don the role in india today. He’s an exceptional talent after mohanlal, he’s natural to the core, dynamic, charming but for me it was no surprise and i think in va, he gav his 2nd best performance after pithamagan. He’s hevily underated for me
i go with Ram.The movie is good..its not gr8..its got everything for it..but its like something is missing kinda feeling.the same issue I had with Rock on.i liked both the movies but didn love them.don knw why!
I had this feeling in the first half, but the second half just bowled me over.
@ Tushar
That was quite a good write up dude.I’m just back from the fun & frolic filled Dostana.Now I am all geared up for Varanam Aayiram- watching it tomorrow nite ( sat nite).I am certainly looking forward to it!!!
I better get down to the cinema tommorow to see this!
I’m glad u have wrote a positive review, although i’ve skipped most of what you’ve said just incase you’ve killed any surprises!
Looking forward to it :-)
@ Sethumadhavan, thanks man. Thanks to all you guys’ Tamil talk too! I am watching Dostana on Monday, and Dasvidaniya over weekend.
@ Steve, Good you skipped all that man, I might have let out some surprises. Hope you like the film :-)
loved the first half. had serious problems with the second half.
songs picturisation and cinematography were brilliant. hats off to the sfx department. i thought that some of the editing wasnt good, but that might have had to do with the pretty bad print they screened at the preview.
suriya simply blew me away. i loved simran and sameera. divya was overshadowed by the rest of the cast.
Tushar – what a review…fantastic.
And what a film!! Like any good review does, it has prompted me to add on. A few more scenes which will remain in memory for a long time. Shankar Menon comforting Suriya in the airport, Simran talking about her love while having dinner(look at the ease with which she does such a difficlt scene – effortless!), Suriya showing his sister’s and Divya’s photos in Delhi posing to sell them off(It really created a knot in my stomach, and I expected a bad twist – thankfully the Gautam’s efforts are honest), and of course Arthi’s boyfriend fight with Suriya saying Arthi will apply ointment to his wound. The film creates one memorable scene after another. And interestingly Shankar Menon says it all – life is full of memories, pain will fade away; memories will linger; take strength from memories! Take a bow, Gautam!
LOL oh and i very much second you last sentence tushar “And yes, please don’t remake it in Hindi!”
just had this nightmarish flash aobut salman or srk routing to playing the lead..
Va is not a gr8 movie, its gud in parts n 2nd half was a big let down for me.. Surya n Haris’s music is the saving grace of this movie. I saw lot of people walkin out of theater in bangalore even before the movie ends. The movie is going to be a big flop at the box office especially in b n c centres which actually form the major chunk of theaters in tn. Va is a film made with honest intentions. Hope it recovers it costs which is around 180 million.
It’s kind of disheartening to know that people are not liking the film, for I can’t find any major issues with it causing that. Still I would ask one and all to go for it. It’s a classical complete narrative movie, something you don’t get to see much often these days thanks to the new wave fascination.
@ Tushar
I’m off now to watch the movie.Will pen my thoughts after watching the same.
@ Steve- kya hua aap to aaj dekhne wale the na?
Babasko?! Blimey!
Hi! I believe it’s been 40yrs since we last spoke ;-)
Nice to see ur feedback yaar…
Sethu, I am quite angry at my fantastic cold/bug/disease?!
It’s taken over today.
I’m going to stay in and venture out to see it on Sunday.
Really wanted to go.
Oh well…
Any idea if the movie is screened with sub-titles in the theatres and if yes – in any NJ theatre?
@ Tushar
Just back from the movie.Got a scare before the movie began that Gautam has agreed to chop off some 15-20 mins from the film ( Delhi sequence) , but thankfully I got to see the full version.I must say first of all hats off to Gautam for a honest attempt.He’s given it all in his tribute to dad.Most of the film story’s apparently taken from his life ( certain things are easily visible like the mallu angle, father’s death etc).Technically snazzy- great use of lighting & camera, Harris is outstanding again
( sadly not gonna see the Harris-Gautam combo again).
Performances are all fine- basically the film has only a handful of etched out characters & all the actors playing them -Surya,Simran, Sameera & Divya alias Ramya are good.Of course Surya takes the cake as its show.
But Tushar- the Delhi angle ( kidnapping & rescue) though well shot- appears quite silly to me.Come on expecting somebody to watch a news flash on t.v & then get a realisation is still o.k with me , but then following it up all the way to the point of setting off on a one man mission as shown is too much.
As Dilip r says, even I noticed the crowd getting restless & thats a matter of concern primarily from the commercial angle.The movie is way to classy for the masses & in my opinion would definitely only do business in A centres & falter majorly in the B & C centres.Probably with the trimming which has taken place ( came into effect in most places today) people may appreciate it better.
Was it a good movie? Certainly yes.Was it a great movie?Certainly no.
Well I found this movie to be a neatly packaged one with a few elongated sequences here and there… I personally liked it
the artistes have done a good job and for most part have underperformed and not gone overboard which helps in the fine flow of sequences. And yes, Gautham has indeed paid tribute to his father in a splendid manner. I am impressed. Way to go Gautham… but u could have done a better job at editing. Btw at the end of the day, what matters most is if the movie was entertaining? Definitely Yes… however I am not sure as to how many would like it as it does not stick to any of the successful templates ;) A special mention to surya and simran for their performances. Surya reinstates that he is a talented actor with yet another outstanding performance. Good job team VA 
I’ve just watched it!
Tushar, it was really good man!
I do have a bit to say, will do so in a short while!
Like I said, the film might disappoint one on account of its length, but if you look at the same aspect and appreciate it, as to what it does to the mainstream template, you might acknowledge what Menon has smartly done here. I had no problem with the Delhi angle. It was more of a redemptive turn for the protagonist and a little dishum-dishum is never bad after the interval!
If I was judging it on factual accuracy, I would end up with a longer list of flaws. The film was dramatic indeed, and hence so many twists. I just went out to see Suriya, and a well made film, and I got much more that that.
Well Sethu, Tushar, Aarthi V…
I really liked it.
It entertained me.
I do prefer the 2nd half much more than the 1st though.
And I didn’t like the scenes with Sameera all that much.
She was ok, but the pace of the film dropped when they met on the train.
But, other than that I had no problem with it.
The story ranged over a whole life span, it was done really well.
Technically, Gautham gets it right all the time.
And here’s no different.
I like 2 songs (the Simran one and the last one when he’s visited by Preeti) and the others are picturised well enough to make up for what they lack.
Simran was just fantastic! She’s grown to be a superb actress!
Sameera was ok.
But I prefered that Preeti girl more.
Surya has easily proved that this is his biggest challenge to date!
I thought he was fab in ‘Peralagam’, but he’s outdone himself here!
U can tell that he’s worked hard on each individual look.
He was very good.
Almost brilliant.
The length’s not a problem at all.
Infact, I didn’t want it to end so soon :-)
It only became a little draggy just before intermission for me.
Didn’t this film remind u of ‘Autograph’ in certain scenes?
Tushar, I also sat in a screen without subtitles, so I completely see what u mean bhai!
How crazy are we eh?
What a good film though… to entertain for 3hours, that too when u don’t understand Tamil!
I’m definitely going to buy the dvd to it.
And the cd!
Tushar – i bet VA is a big flop of the YEAR 2008. Time & Money wasted…….I respect ur review..Good review for First Tamil movie with english Diagolues.”GOD SAVE THE PRODUCER”.
Glad you liked it, Steve.
@Balajee, thanks for your wishes.
gosh, i never thought a tamil film would bring this much elation. I had given up on tamil cinema. I had given up on indian cinema too- mainstream types, to be precise. i thought we will drown forever in cliches, and die forever in stale stories of love, and stinkly romance…that no other stories will be told, that of people and connections, that of lives and how they crisscross from joy, to turmultous journeys…through death, disillusionment and loss…of body,mind, sanity, soul and direction…
yes this is full of the bollywood/tollywood whatever-wood idioms, songs, items, hot chicks, and such…but there’s unique contexts and unique meandering narratives that arent the usual cliches. Cliches about the “one love”, or about chastity before marriage, or the good Indian son (drug abuse and hitting the father)…
Damn! the elements in the film….patchy as they might be in the end, are so refreshing, never has anyone done it ever, and u have craved it with a parched cinematic throat…and finally someone provides it.
complicated relationships of gen next, actual film songs (and NOT new songs) being used in familiar occasions like family get-togethers or campus events; drug abuse in middle class families, english smattered tamil speaking urban middle class families, full hindi speaking delhi parts (thank god, no terrorist or child peddler spoke weird accented tamil and said he was living in Trichy during his college days
)
Thank cinema’s god for all this
:D
What in goddamn hell was that second half?
Okay, lets start from the beginning…
Lovely credit sequence. Nostalgia. Soft Psychedelia. Like you put it ‘life goes on’.
I loved the ‘home video’ aesthetic of the first half. Intimacy. The Common. In an year where the common man returned with a vengeance, how perfect it would be to cap it off with an epic of the common man. Little intimate griefs and happiness, it doesn’t change the world spins but it’s humane, it’s beautiful, it’s love. Even grief when the patriarch passes away is so private, so dignified.. it’s heartbreaking.
The songs were amazing. Each song a microcosm for a decade. So you have flower-power jive jitterbug. You have the sanjay dutt hair-do full maccho coming of age bit. You have the chiffon and foreign locale. Then there’s the loose usage of the word ‘rock’ song. And the thapankuthhu- mourning/moping song. It seemed poised to be a musical to end all musicals and yet interspersed with lovely spare retro renditions on guitar.
I loved it when the hero has do contend with embarrassing facts of life and this film had scores that Suriya pulled off with terrific grace.
The father figure was my first problem.. what’s with the God-like treatment. Whenever he is summoned, he appears, his head filling up the screen and voice of authority. Too Kadar Khan for comfort!
But still with all the squirm, i loved the first half and couldn’t wait for the second.
Okay.. junkie on a a mission to infiltrate the underworld, save a kid and redeem himself. That’s a movie of it;s own and if Menon had made a film on only this interlude.. i bet it would have been pure kick ass. What’s with the sudden ‘cool gore’. What’s with the camera now behaving like a gun. What the fuck happened to our loser hero? He cuts a guy in half and declares that he found himself again? AAH FUCK MAN. Play some guitar. You’re too plain for this shit.
and then the movie becomes fascist in a naive sort of way.
Join the army and blow up an old dilapidated thatched house. What the hell was that image? I know Menon has a fascination and love with the law and i respect that but bringing it in this film and jettisoning all heart, all subtlety.. well how do i put this… sucks ass! It’s fucking Fox News with army weapons as Boys Toys! And that stupid hilarious image with Suriya in army uniform, Divya Spandana on the other side and separating them is the phalic-looking bofors gun. Wow! Suriya’s second erection. Born out of so much fetishistic of guns and muscles.
The first erection, if you remember, was in a quiet college dormitory with his first sweetheart.
How the movie fell!
any last words?
yeah, suriya was too damn cool. great great great
Well I saw VA once again a few days back & the respect for the movie has increased even more.The music by Harris Jayaraj is truly awesome- all the songs are lovely be it Mundhinam,yethi yethi,o shanti, adiye kollude, anjale etc.
Suriya is convincing in both the portrayals,Rathnavelu’s camera work is brilliant & overall the movie is sincere.Yes it does have its flaws, but I think the movie does rise above all the flaws!!!
@Sid, don’t be such a pseudo.
@Tushar.. tumne banaya mujhe psuedo! Bwaaaaaa
@Sethumadhavan
Well said. I have seen the movie three time now, and each time I like the movie better. VA is really a milestone in Indian cinema. Surya is gonna make it really big! Kudos to Gautham Vasudev Menon.
@sid The father is portrayed from the eyes of the son ( remember major surya is in flashback mode). To any son, his dad IS god! So I don’t think showing him like god is misplaced!