Krishna was there during the son's good times and especially the bad.

Unlike some other Tamil movies that tend to push down the sacrifice of the father or the mother, especially the mothers, (there are tons of movies about Indian men and their mothers and very few on Indian men and their fathers. I am sure Freud would have something to say about that!) down the throat of the audience, here it is told subtly. Sometimes the deepest acts of love between a parent and child are not shown through loud protestations of love but through simple acts: a pat on the back; a gentle hug, a reassuring word etc. GM uses silence and subtle play of emotions where normally in Tamil films they resort to histrionics. Case in point is towards the end when the son comes for the father's funeral. There is no hysterical sobbing. I especially liked the scene where he goes in search of his mother (played admirably by Simran). When he sees her, he just puts his head on her lap and the mom hugs him. The mother and son are enveloped in a private moment of grief which the audience has been allowed to watch.

The narrative unfolds slowly, which is unlike a GM film. And he does not tell the story from one scene which explains another scene etc. Instead the narration is like the laying of one brick after another until it slowly makes up the lovely structure of the house. Little incidences are narrated to show how the characters develop and this helps the story to progresses.

Suriya gives his best performance of his career in this movie. He proves that one does not need expensive make-up to make one look older than his years. He is very believable as the older Krishna who is approaching death as he is as a young 18 year-old. And he is incredibly dashing as the army officer. In Suriya, the Tamil film finally has a male sex symbol. After decades of having kanavu kanni (dream girl) for the men, the women finally get their kanavu kannan or ann azhagan. Regardless of how this movie fares, it will be always remembered for the remarkable performance of Suriya.

Hot on his heels in terms of performance is Simran as Malini. This is Simran's comeback movie (not Seval) in Tamil films and it is also her best performance so far because she even speaks in her own voice. Simran gets second billing after Suriya and she also gets more screen time than Sameera or Divya. She is scintillating as the young Malini who is wooed by Krishna and she is a dignified mother who stands behind her son and husband in her older age. And Simran ages gracefully in this movie without excessive make-up. It's through her movements, the small lines on her forehead etc. Congratulations to the make-up man for a job well done on both characters.

Jyothika was GM's muse as she appeared in three consecutive movies. After her retirement he has cast his eyes for another muse and it seems to have fallen on Sameera Reddy (she was to be cast in the now aborted movie with Ajith). Sameera is no Jo. But she is a fine actress who has done many dark roles in Hindi films. Perhaps she has immersed herself so much in dark and off beat roles that she seems lost when asked to play a nice girl-next-door. A friend, who is a Sameera fan lamented that she was underused in this film. Perhaps. And she does not lip synch properly either! Perhaps that's why she is used as an eye candy and she delivers the goods.

Prior to the film's release Divya was quoted as saying this is her career best performance. Again she is a let down and it's not strictly her fault as she does not have much opportunity to shine. The few scenes where the camera does focus on her, she looks wooden. What was needed here was a kannal pesum penne (a girl who could speak with her eyes), something which Jo excelled in.

The music is fantastic (although not on par as Khaaka Khaaka). And it is sad to note that this will be the last collaboration between GM and Harris. The songs have been picturised very well. One song, Nee Enna Enna Anjela was unnecessary and should have been left out (although Suriya looks delicious in that song too). This would have shortened the film (more on that later). The Alaimel Panithuli is hauntingly beautiful and it is a pity that that song has been chopped off in the hurried butchering of the movie after its release in some theatres in Tamil Nadu.

Rathnavel's cinematography is luscious. It captures the colors and tones of the different era very beautifully. Rajeevan's art direction is good although the digital effects to recreate scenes from the past look fake.

There are two villains in the movie: the director GM and editor Anthony. They did not do their job properly. GM who has criticized other movies' failings like Bheema and Sivaji, (the criticisms were valid) seems to have forgotten to exercise the same level of objectivity when it came to his own film. Yes, it is a lovingly made tribute of a film to dads everywhere (especially his own who died during the filming of VA) but he, who is one of the most intelligent and forward looking directors, surely would have known that the era of 3 hours plus movies in Tamil films are gone.

And Anthony should have sharpened his scissors and pointed out to GM that the movie was far too long with some unnecessary scenes. Before the movie was released, surely GM must have screened it to some people like the guys from the corporate, the producer etc? Didn't any one notice these scenes that were quite irrelevant to the movie? At least 20 minutes of the movie should have been cut before release. (I am not mentioning the scenes because those who have seen it would know. And those who haven't – go and see it!) Why was this not done prior to the release? Why was it only done after the release when fans and theatre owners began complaining?

This is not the first time that a Tamil movie has been butchered after its release to make it shorter and tighter. This year, several movies like Satyam etc have undergone extra editing after the release. The negative cutting exercise did not help Satyam (it was dead on arrival!) and one wonders whether VA will be revitalized after its shorter and tighter version. The editing work should have been done before the movie was released and not after.

Hollywood directors often release the full movie with the deleted scenes on DVD as the director's cut. Maybe Tamil film directors should also look at this possibility instead of going through the embarrassment of having to re-edit their movies after release. The actors, cinematographers, music directors etc have all done a wonderful job in VA.

But despite its shortcomings, VA is one of the best films I have seen this year. In Kuala Lumpur where I saw it, the version was nearly 2 hours 50 minutes without intermission (we do not have intermission in Malaysia or Singapore). At the end of the movie, some of the audience applauded. In all my years of watching Tamil films in Malaysia, I have never seen anything like this. And this was not an isolated incidence either. In another chic cinema in the heart of the city, my friend too was shocked to see the audience clapping their hands at the end of the show. She too had not seen anything like it.

Do go and watch the movie. You will not feel sorry for spending your time or money in the theatre. There are many things admirable in the movie. You will walk out with a warm feeling in your heart. Those who have (or had) loving fathers, you will identify with Krishna and his son. For those who never had an easy relationship with their own fathers, you will walk out and say, "I wish I had a dad like Suriya's in the movie!"

Sharmila Valli Narayanan
sharmval@gmail.com

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