Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya – a review

I finally watched the much-celebrated Gautham Menon film, Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya on Tuesday. Cinematically, there were things that worked, and did not worked, like with every film I watch. But personally, the film tends to get boring and drags interminably at times. Mine is not an exhaustive review. They are simply jottings of how I felt when I watched the movie.

What worked…

Flashes of brilliance in story-telling: the only fight sequence where our man comes across as truly angry and normal, the scene in the Central Park where Simbu and Trisha meet after a three year gap. Simbu’s acting: for a change it is real. No overacting, no unnecessary mannerisms and best of all, he looks amazingly good! I am no fan of Simbu but he completely bowled me over in this film. This just goes to prove that at the hands of a capable director anyone can be a good actor. The family is normal: father as strict but loving, mom as non-interfering but concerned, sister warning him this will not work but still not wanting to refuse help. It’s so real that you feel like this is home. And finally, AR Rahman’s awesome soundtrack. So much better than the much-praised Rahman of Jai Ho!

What did not work…

The sheer number of songs breaks the rhythm and flow of the plot. Somehow they seem to be hampering the progress of the story. Trisha is plastic. I mean…really plastic! It’s one thing to be restrained, but quite another to look like a doll throughout the movie. The supposedly-enigmatic Mona Lisa smile is far from enigmatic: just infuriating. At one point, when Simbu asks, “There are so many women in the world. Why Jessie?” you seriously consider the question and look for an answer. Also, there seems to be a major flaw in Jessie’s character. She doesn’t know what she wants. She asks him to come and fetch her one day…and two days later decides she doesn’t want him anymore. One can be headstrong, convinced and still be indecisive. Jessie, on the other hand, comes across as completely confused. She wants him but is scared to ask her father, knowing fully well that he will never agree. After a while she decides to get into the relationship, only to back out a short while later. On the whole, she is confusing!

The bottomline: Good to watch once. But beyond that, if you want to watch a coherent love story, this is not it. It is very messy, very down-to-earth and very real. And it does tug at your heartstrings at times. If only rarely!