Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya - Review

I caught the movie really late. Ie: after I saw all the brickbats spewing venom at the movie and the director. It was my confidence in Gautam's sense of romance that he portrays on screen that allowed me to give the movie a decent viewing without being biased by the comments I heard before. You have to give it to him... he manages to capture those small elements of urban romance that makes you instantly connect with the characters. No director other than perhaps Mani Ratnam can claim to have such a convincing depiction of romance in Chennai. Gautam has been consistent in this aspect right from Minnale to Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya.


After talking to a couple of people I realised it worked for some and didn't for others. Well, it worked for me. Yes, including the ending. By now, I am quite familiar with the 'can u be that dumb' expression I have been receiving every time I say this. The film is not flawless. The errors are much more than any of his previous movies. Infact I think it is these not so harmful seeming flaws that's irked a lot of viewers in the context of the film as a whole. However i enjoyed watching the movie, didn't get bored for a minute, loved the visuals, performances, songs etc. Realism, rationality - that’s an entirely different issue.


It is the story of Karthik (Silambarasan) and Jessie (Trisha), neighbours who fall in love. Jessie's traditional upbringing in a malayali Christian house hold comes in the way of the lovers uniting. Jessie defies logic every time she agrees to the relationship and tries to break away from him. Malathi Rangarajan in her review in 'The Hindu' said she's an ideal representation of the woman of today. Well Ma'am, I take offence. I like to believe, we are a little more rational in our thinking abilities. The director engages us in the small conversations and moments shared by the lovers. The movie is very dialogue oriented and has the two key characters in all the scenes. Once again, a very different treatment in Tamil cinema. The supporting cast, unobtrusively form the world around Karthik and Jessie. This treatment I am guessing did not really work in favour of the film as far as the 'mass' is concerned. But interestingly I found more than one instance of people feeling otherwise. My friend (a guy), couldn't believe the similarity between his life and the movie. Meanwhile the girl sitting to my right never had a dry moment and constantly kept blowing her nose into a tissue. As for me, I immensely enjoyed being part of the smallest conversations between the young couple.


So to start with what worked for me - the dreamy frames, tones & visuals, I wanted to be out there with the characters and be part of this beautiful thing. Hossana is definitely one of the best picturised songs in Tamil cinema. In an industry where songs are about grand sets, foreign locales and 50 dancers gyrating their hips, this song stands up for pure class. Manoj Paramahamsa strikes a balance by creating a realistic setting for the scenes in chennai. His camera pretty much sets the environment for the entire story. AR Rahman's music, though not as popular as what Harris has delivered previously lends an air of freshness. It is nice to have someone give us sounds and rhythms we are not used to hearing that prompts us to concentrate harder or tease our senses occasionally. That also means another similar album from him, won't work. Nalini Sriram's clothes, especially on Trisha stand out. It’s a pleasure to see a young office going woman almost every time in a saree. Especially, when I had to deal with a range of comments when I did the same. It’s nice to see a normal side of Simbu, especially a better looking one. He is extremely believable as the aspiring director, hopelessly in love. I admire Gautam's decision on the ending. It gave it a nice lump in the throat feel that we all die-hard romantics enjoy. Ands lets admit it, that’s how most of these things end up anyway. For a more practical, reasoning of the ending, I think Karthik simply deserves someone better. May be its all part of the larger plan ;-).


Now for the not so nice parts - Gautam forgot to do a final edit & wrap on the script. It meanders in the seond half and stumbles its way to an ending. Jessie takes that one last decision based on the fact that Karthik did not respond in time when she was probably the strongest. Now as a girl, I can tell you that often, we do tend to get disillusioned when someone fails to rise to the occasion; especially when it takes all that we have to take a bold step. But in Jessie's case, we have no clue of the conflict in her mind. The scene apart from being written badly, is not given the importance of a turning point in the movie. The end result being the audience left wondering why the woman is crazy. The part where she tells Karthik they should be just friends (after the movie premier) reduced almost the entire film into a cliché. What happened to all the grace one expects from Gautam menon movies? Why did the hero have to be a boxing champ just for that one fight? The detail was totally unnecessary and seemed like it was added purely for Simbu's benefit. The scene where Jessie confesses her love to Karthik in Kerala, they play 'mannippaya...' in the background. I wonder if it means she regrets telling him all that she just did. And why would somebody who refused to walk up to your ex boyfriend when they meet in New York attend a premier show of his movie held in Chennai? Jessie continues to puzzle Karthik and the audience throughout the film with such antics. I wish Gautam had been more kind to her.


I would strongly recommend watching the movie. It is the kind of Tamil cinema we don’t get to see too much of. Brace yourself for 3 hours of pure romance. For many men I know, that’s too much to handle. An ideal romantic outing - breezy and dreamy. (I wish the kissing was more convincing though, somehow Jessie just refuses to open her mouth ;-)…) Gautam, a slightly more mature fare the next time…OK??