Suriya may not yet be the kind of performer who can play anything вЂ“ case in point: the senior Krishnan вЂ“ but heвЂ™s the only young actor today whose conviction alone can shepherd you through the ups and downs of a film. His pain leaps off the screen and sears itself onto you, just as his smile in the romantic portions wheedles a smile out of you.

SuriyaвЂ™s breakdown inside a telephone booth is the surest sign yet that this actor, when heвЂ™s not trying to вЂњact,вЂќ is the genuine article. I hated the fact that the significance of the elegant title was laid out so inelegantly at the very end, as if hastily summarising a high-school essay with a recap of the main theme.Д«ut these occasional (or, at times, frequent) missteps are a small price to pay for an ambitious film with so many affecting moments. Of course there are a lot of things in Vaaranam Aayiram I wish had been better (or different) вЂ“ the choreography of Harris JayarajвЂ™s smashing songs, for instance, which comes across as stagy in the worst possible way. And IвЂ™ve responded with what I said after being questioned about my admission of enjoying Aaja Nachle, which is that when you find yourself liking a film, the flaws recede into the background and when you donвЂ™t, those very same flaws stand up in front of you and slap you senseless till your cheeks sting and your eyes water. вЂњOh, but what about the flaws?вЂќ IвЂ™ve been asked. Once Krishnan receded to the far corners of the screen вЂ“ though he never really disappears, this being his story as well вЂ“ and once Suriya occupies centrestage, I had litttle problem handing myself over.

It wasnвЂ™t till the flashback began and the younger Kamal took over did I begin to ease into the film вЂ“ and thatвЂ™s the exact thing that happened with me here. This isnвЂ™t acting, but вЂњactingвЂќ вЂ“ the entire effort is shrouded in quotes. This happened with the opening scenes of Swathi Muthyam ( Sippikkul Muthu) as well, where Kamal Hassan fussed about mightily, trying to portray an old man by affecting a gruff vocal manner and a shuffling gait. ThereвЂ™s something about seeing a young hero self-consciously play an older man that almost always pulls me out of a film. It did, however, take me a while to get into the proceedings, as the film got going with an episode involving Krishnan (SuriyaвЂ™s father, again played by Suriya). You know that a film (or a television show, or a novel) is working for you when you fall for the characters and decide to let them take you wherever they go вЂ“ and thatвЂ™s what happened to me with this latest presentation from Gautham Vasudev Menon. I understand, also, that Tamil cinema is more likely to focus on the punchy highlights of a heroвЂ™s life, rather than stopping to stare at a boy strumming a guitar in front of his parents in a scene that serves no purpose other than to highlight a lilting moment of domestic grace.Д«ut Vaaranam Aayiram worked for me for precisely these reasons. Not everyone has to be a fan of the picaresque tradition вЂ“ I understand that. IвЂ™ve argued that dramatic tension isnвЂ™t necessarily a quality every film has to aspire to, in the way that every book doesnвЂ™t have to revolve around a crackling plot at its centre, especially since Vaaranam Aayiram is the equivalent of a picaresque novel, telling the story of a lovable rogue (Suriya, played by Suriya) in a loosely episodic fashion.

IвЂ™ve been told that thereвЂ™s no dramatic tension in the film. IвЂ™ve pointed to my family, my parents to counter this. IвЂ™ve been told that the characters in the film converse in English and listen to Hindi songs, the way Tamil families most certainly do not, and that the parents are permissive in ways Tamil parents most certainly arenвЂ™t. IвЂ™ve replied that IвЂ™ve seen longer films. вЂ“ IвЂ™VE SPENT THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS attempting to explain to people what I mean by the confession, вЂњI quite liked Vaaranam Aayiram.вЂќ IвЂ™ve been told that itвЂ™s too long.

Vaaranam aayiram movie review