He feels like a different person at the different stages. No matter what happened in the young man’s life, his father was always there to help guide him. It felt honest and caring in the portrayal of this parental dynamic. It was something that felt foreign in Tamil cinema, where the plot device of father-son conflict is very common. There’s multiple scenes in which the father constantly encourages and brings up the son’s confidence. Suriya and Gautham Menon seemed to have figured out the perfect formula and recipe in channelling a real life story to Tamil cinema. From the childlike wonder of looking up to to a father figure, to the youthful brashness and confidence that comes with love, to the mellowing down and searching for one’s purpose of life. Never before had I witnessed a film from Kollywood that treated life like poetry, emphasising on the highs and lows of a person’s life. The reason why Vaaranam Aayiram ranks as my favourite one, or one that I reminisce about a lot, is its exploration of life. I’m a film fanatic, the type that will watch a film or two a day, depending on how much time I have. In my opinion, it’s really hard to distinguish a favourite film. So entering the theatre with a bunch of my friends, I had no idea I was about to watch a life-altering film. I knew I was in for something different in comparison to Suriya and Gautham Menon’s previous venture ( Kaakha Kaakha). I was hyped after seeing the beautifully crafted trailer. I remember listening to the amazing soundtrack from Harris Jayaraj almost every single day. It was back in 2008, and living in Toronto, Canada, watching a Tamil film in theatres was always a special occasion.
I was lucky enough to watch this film on the first day of its release. But when it comes to my favourite film, I had to think of a movie that moved me in a way that a lot of movies are not able to. They’re the trio that I consider as the best of the best, and the ones who seem to always elevate even the most formulaic of stories. When his father comes and finds him, Suriya narrates in the background -“Daddy, It was on that day, I told to myself, I will not leave your hands again”.To me, the best Tamil movies of all time include Mani Ratnam, A.R. As a child, Suriya leaves his father’s fingers, runs to pick something on a beach and gets lost in the crowd. Vaaranam Aayiram had a slightly difficult to watch second half, but it was a movie with a soul. Two years later, Singham released and we lost this performer somewhere down the lane. But Suriya took up the challenge of dual roles surprisingly well and came out in flying colors.
What beautiful music did the movie have ! What terrific performance did Suriya give ! It might have been perhaps great to have Mohanlal as the father, who was Gautham Menon’s first choice. In a movie about father-son bond, I liked how Gautham Menon showed the mother is still an important part that binds them. Suriya still thinking it is his dad to whom he is speaking, goes on to say that he was madly in love with her and that they made love. After the dad hears about Meghana’s demise, he couldn’t take it more and gives the phone to his mother (Simran). The screen splits into two and you could see both sides together.
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