Vaaranam Aayiram

It was a lazy saturday - I slept most of the day away. I was reading Lord Of Chaos - and fell asleep imagining myself to be Elayne. I woke up to have lunch and fell asleep again after that. This was no way to lose weight - but I had built up an amazing amt of sleep debt and I wanted to clear it. When I awoke next, it was 6 - a swarm of mosquitoes bit the Arien and so I awoke amidst his shouts that I should have closed the balcony door. Resisting the urge to shout back - I ran to close the door and decided to make a cup of tea to wake us up from a totally unproductive day.

While we drank the amazing tea - I had perfected the art :) - I tried selling the idea of going out - we had spent the entire day indoors and I wanted to go on a drive. The Arien felt the same way and was glad to comply. Actually, his plan was to gorge on a Zinger. We hurriedly got ready - I called up my Dad to tell him that I was not visiting today - and we left at 8:30 pm. Tch Tch... remember that the piscean takes forever to get ready b'cos she gets distracted :)

As we drove towards Indiranagar - I ask the Arien if he can recall the last movie we saw at the Theatre - while we ponder over this - we realize that we haven't been to a theatre in a while, now. The Arien suggests catching a movie - I am suddenly not so sure - Wht 'bout Dinner? - We won't get tickets - the movie will end at 11 - isn't that too late? The Arien coolly brushes my questions and we head towards Lido. Surprises of surprises - we get the tickets - I am in shock :D

The movie is good until the Interval - after that it starts to drag - you almost want to say "Ok - I got it - Move on or end it". I do not plan to share the summary as the movie is still new. If you want a summary, see Vaaranam Aayiram.

What I liked 'bout the Movie

• I connected with a lot of stuff that the young Surya goes through. I spent my teenage years in Chennai - some of my memories are of Kamal Hassan (Apoorva Sahotharagal), freedom to listen to any kind of music (Hindi songs/English songs) at home, having the freedom to call your friends (boy/gal) home, boys fighting over a gal etc. - maybe that is part of every one's teenage years irrespective of where you are... but it was nice to revisit it.
• Most movies deal with lowe between the Hero and Heroine and while there were two heroines - the focus was on the lowe between the Hero and his father.
• The romance of Surya and Sameera - it was subtle, understated, and quite real.
• The romance of Surya and Simran - was mature, real, and not over the top.
• Everybody did a good job - they played their role well.

What I did not like 'bout the Movie

• The movie was 'bout Surya and his Dad - While the emphasis was on him - the other actors were almost jes eye-candy. This made the story one-sided. For instance, there was no telling moment for any of the other actors. Maybe the impression was to convey that their life revolved around him which does happen in some families.
• It was a lengthy movie and some scenes could have been removed - they were only trying to over-emphasise the point. Some scenes - you actually felt your patience was being stretched.
• A few unbelievable portions of the movie.

Suhasini, an erstwhile actress, had reviewed the movie in her show - I do not catch the show often and so I cannot recall the name of the show. What she did not like 'bout the movie are as follows:

• The actors burst into English suddenly - the father calls the son Kiddo - when the son is no longer a kiddo. Disagree.
  I am sure most of us think in English, in India. Most of us lapse into English while talking with our parents, relatives. I am still called "Aela" and "Kozhandhai" by my grandma and aunts.
• The fact that the parents lowe each other is brought out too many times during the movie by the father, mother, and the son to be almost boring. Disagree.
  I have a friend, whose parents are almost always saying exactly the same things. She always hoped she would be lucky in lowe and she is. So, it does happen in some families.
• Simran, a beauty, has been made to look ugly while everyone in the movie talks of how beautiful she is. Agree.
• The movie does not let any of the other actors go beyond their role except Surya. They all seem single dimensional and Surya seems multi-dimensional. Agree.

Well.. thats it - catch it and let me know if you agree or diagree. Oh btw, the title of the movie is a part of a Hindu verse.