Vaaranam Aayiram - Love you Daddy

Gowtham Vasudev Menon’s attempt at meaningful cinema is a faithful adaptation of his real life relationship with his father who passed away when Gowtham was scripting the movie. The movie is about how a father a deep yet subtle role in defining his son’s character. He plays a significant hand in helping his son overcome different stages in his life thereby guiding him to greater heights yet preferring to stay in the background without being too proud about it. 

Surya as Krishnan (Dad) and Surya (Son) has given his best performance of his career. Tamil cinema is rest assured that the Kamal Hassan torch will be carried on by people like Surya in the future. Among the heroines, Simran has come up with one of her best performances as an understanding mother. Divya hasn’t had much to do but promises much in a small role. However Sameera Reddy takes us all as a whip of fresh air with her casual ways and beautiful looks. One can be rest assured of two things in Gowtham's movies. One, the romance part will be very good. Two, a heroine will die. The trend continues here. 

Music and Cinematography were pillars for the movie. Harris Jeyaraj has done exceptionally well in both songs and background score. Rathnavelu has done an inspiring job in giving the right mood through out the film. His contributions to the romance sequences are priceless. 

What Gowtham Vasudev Menon (Director) does here is, he did not try to make a soap opera out of the storyline but prefers a more subtle approach to it. The scene where the son calls his dad over the phone and cries for the death of his girl and also confessing that he and the girl made love shows the extent of understanding the dad has on his son. There are quite a few scenes where you will remember your dad or at least wish your dad was like the elder Surya. 

There will be criticism for the movie for its pace and for the fact that the movie shows more about the younger Surya than about the dad. To come to Gowtham’s aide, one has to understand that when a biography cannot be shown in any faster pace as that will affect the audience’s involvement in the film. We are also used to seeing movies like these as soaps where a dad’s contribution and sacrifice to a son was elobrated as a sentimental weapon to attract audience. This movie will not make you sit and cry, rather takes you on a nostalgic trip.

To like this movie you will have to get involved in it. If you are coming in just to have fun, don’t go for it. However, if u like your dad please watch this movie. If you don’t like your dad watch this movie, you will actually start loving him. 

The Nostalgia of Deepavali

India is THE country for festivals. If we do a rough calculation, almost everyday there is a festival being celebrated with importance by some community or the other. But the grand daddy of them all is Deepavali (I refer to it as Deepavali, not Diwali because of my Tamil roots). The whole day is so beautifully set up with Pooja, Sweets, Lights and of course Crackers. In modern times, Deepavali is also about special TV programmes and new movie releases. One thing that separates Deepavali from other Indian festivals is the buzz that it creates more than a month before it actually happens.

I still remember during my school days where new clothes bought weeks before were the biggest temptation as we were prohibited from wearing them before the festival day. The other irresistible stuff is the crackers. Once bought, crackers were spread in the terrace during sunshine for them to dry even more so as have the desired effect. We were not supposed to fire crackers until the final evening before Deepavali. Occasionally we were given 1 or 2 crackers to burn which gave us so much joy.

On the day of Deepavali is the real excitement. The normally late risers like me would wake up by 4am. The first thing that we would do is pick the most audible bomb from the box and burst it in front of the house. Kids have a competition on who would burst the first cracker of the community. Then oil bath and morning Pooja. Then kids would start with the crackers while parents begin their preparation for the grand lunch that would consists of at least 10 types of dishes. Until lunch, kids' attention is divided between the special TV programmes and the crackers. The excitement of bursting crackers never fades down till late afternoon. Crackers were burnt on various platforms like tins, pipes and even dog's tail. During late afternoon, sweets were distributed to friends, relatives, neighbors and for people in need. Children also share their crackers with less privileged children. By now its evening and the focus shifts from bombs to colorful crackers like flowerpots, rockets etc... The whole house is decorated with lights giving a real festival picture. So much happiness and so much goodwill in one day… Legend says that Deepavali is the day where good triumphed over evil. In modern times, Deepavali is the day where people share and spread love and brotherhood with others.

In a mechanical world that we live, there is a need for festivals like these for refreshment and to do a soul searching. After two years of celebrating Deepavali in the land of the British while mastering my technical skills, I’m going to be in my home for this year’s Deepavali. A childish excitement has embraced me again. The new clothes, the crackers and the sweets take me back in time to the good old days. I love this. Do u?

Buses, Roads and Marriage

Indian marriages are always a complicate affair. It involves a lot of processes and like its population, a whole lot of people. It is also about meeting new people and a chance to see your kin and kith in one place. So, I was naturally thrilled when a close friend invited for her marriage in Madanapalle, Andhra. A buzzing mind of mine soon had to think of a grueling journey ahead. 7 hours of drive by coach is the only form of transport. Since US of A took over our work timings, we (me and a friend) had to start in the morning from Chennai. As opposed to an already planned direct bus, we took a detour via Thirupati largely owing to the comfort of A/C coach to the temple town. The real problem started in Thirupati from where, there’s only a so called EXPRESS bus to Madanapalle. 4 hours of bone wrecking journey led us to our destination which quite literarily was situated in the middle of nowhere. The only highpoint of our visit is the marriage and the way we were treated by my friend’s family. Royal is the one appropriate word. This is a feature of Indian marriages. Every guest is treated with so much care, the naturally the newly weds receives a heartfelt wishes. In spite of the entire festive atmosphere, we were still having nightmares about the return journey. The town’s incompetence for basic amenities didn’t help our cause either. Old habits like card games surfaced to fight of the boredom of not getting sleep. After the marriage, we were again off on a demanding 7 hour trip back to Chennai to be in time for another day (rather night) at office. Simply put, that was one of the pain stalking journey that I’ve had for a long time. All my bones were off the hook as I landed in Chennai. Still our wishes for the couple remain intact. That’s the price I was willing to pay for such a sweet friend.