Vaaranam Aayiram

The film was quite a refreshing change from what I've seen so far in this year - Dasavadharam, Kuselan, Aegan, Kuruvi etc. The story was honest and most of the segments were interesting and had you engaged and were also, mostly rooted in realism - well, almost.

1. Story - Its a story of a man sharing his reminiscences of his father and the impact has had over him, after coming to
know that his father died. The son is currently on some mission and so cannot return to his home -
so he does the thinking part.


Segment 1: How Dad and Mom met
This is the second weakest segment in the movie. The effective use of the song -
Mundhinam Parthene has been used well to take the story forward without wasting time
and dialogue. The choreography looked weak and somehow you were left wondering
if the song could have been made better.

Segment 2: Surya's (son) childhood
This segment worked - the director established that they were not a well-to-do
family without too much of the exaggerated scenes which we came to see in
Thavamaai Thavamirundhu. The scene where the son says his father was his hero - and
the visual shows his dad driving the lorry is what would appeal to any 5 or 6 year old.

Segment 3: Surya in College/Romance with Meghna (Sameera Reddy)
Without a doubt, the strongest segment in the movie - Gautam Menon had
told this was supposed to be an original movie in itself and it showed in the overall
scheme of things. This segment also had the best placed and best choreographed song - Adiye
Kolludhey. The scenes between Surya and Sameera were 'cute' without trying too much -
a hallmark of Mani Ratnam - and I've already said that GVM is the only probable person to
continue Mani's style in tamizh.

Segment 4: Surya in depressed mode
Was overdrawn and though the way the director shows the child rescue episode
as a positive starting point to Surya's recovery, it did seem like overwrought.
The song Anjala, was basically trying to hammer into you what the scenes were supposed
to be doing - that Surya was dejected, depressed and suicidal. But I felt it could have been
cut at the point where the dad sees his son sprawled out on the floor.

Segment 5: Surya in Army, Divya-Surya falling in love, getting married and Father
falling sick and dying.
This segment was supposed to be a closure to all movie - the romance between
Surya and Divya was half baked and quite superficial and again, this might have been
intended, but compared to the warmth in the Surya - Sameera track. And the make-up and
the way Surya acted as the dad was kind of falling short of expectation, especially after being
used to Kamal in Indian and Naayagan.

2. Direction, Screenplay and Dialogues
Gautam Menon needs to delegate the responsibilities - he needs to grow
into a screenwriter and I believe he should use another screenwriter for his stories.
His direction is definitely good - he can still improve in a few other places, but come on, I
never expected this movie to be this good. While Gautam Menon's dialogs are becoming
stereotypical (much like Mani Ratnam's), they are becoming mundane (not like Mani Ratnam's).

3. Acting
Obviously the movie is Surya's and he comes out looking really good - a dependable actor
prone to the cliched (like the way he played the last days of the dad character). His 6 pack
look will make already drooling female population drool more. Its a pity he is short - a few
more inches and he might have been ideal for his physique. Sameera Reddy is a big
improvement from the 'aunty' whom I saw in Musafir. She is perhaps a good find this year
in Tamizh Cinema. Divya Spandana is boring - she has, perhaps, 2 expressions and when
you see B.S like this , you wonder "En da inda madri sappa figure ellam yeathi vidareenga?"
Simran makes you feel what if she had continued to act more often in tamizh movie. Barring her
make-up, she was really graceful and mature and was a fantastic foil for Surya.

4. Music and BGM
Harris Jayaraj provides you 3 good songs - Adiye Kolludhey, Mundhinam and Nejukkul.
The BGM is nothing big to write about.


On the whole, Vaaranam Aayiram was definitely worth the hype - dependable
acting with a good storyline which does not assume that audiences are imbeciles and idiots.

There were a few flaws like:
1. The fast money in the post graduation phase
2. Surya's sister being totally ignored in terms of character development. While her friend
Divya gets married to Surya and has a kid and all that, Shreya remains unmarried and
living with her parents till the end. I can go on like this, picking on small details, but again
compared to Vijay kind of movies, this is much much much better. I also liked the meticulous
details like the visa interview and other details were good to see in a tam movie.


Verdict: Paisa Vassol - at $10 per ticket, I felt this movie was good.
P.S: the Audio system totally sucked at this Channelside Cinemas, which is supposed to
be in the most happening part of Tampa and there was this desi software makkal who kept
talking and talking crap-o-shit-o. I searched 10 minutes to get the ideal seats and then these
junta plopped right in the row in front of me and the usual giggles and wisecracks kept me
wanting to shift 10 rows away from them.