Of all the girls in the world ,why did i have to fall in love with Jessie?
Hence starts the narration of the film by the lead protagonist .
Well, because you can’t decide whom you fall in love with.
That is the reasoning part.
The problematic part is that the boy is a Tamilian and the girl a malayali Christian.
That is the basic premise of this gem of a Tamil film- Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa .
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (would you cross the clouds with/for me?) follows the story of Karthik (Simbu) an engineer who falls in love with the attractive and reticent Jessie(Trisha)who is a program analyst in an IT firm.Throughout we see Jessie through Karthik’s eyes.Jessie however is a girl torn because of her duality..she has to be the obedient girl of the conservative family but she also finds herself increasingly drawn to the young suitor who is persevarant and brave and unihibitant ..he loves her and lets her know how much.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is a film that has a soul. It should too ..it seems semi autobiographical. Love hits you and all hits are not pleasant.You have to chase your love,earn it.It makes you do things- simple things ;like say trying to steal a glance while she is taking the clothes off the clotheline on the terrace while pretending to listen to i-pod,chasing her from two blocks behind,all the things that boys do to know the routine of girls they are smitten by.Where eking out a smile from her is the achievement of the day.
Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa has several pleasant tracks by Rahman (Hosanna,Omana Penne) ,not all blockbuster stuff.It is light music,in sync with the feel of the movie.The film has liberal doses of English and inside jokes about the industry,appropriately told as Karthik is trying to be a film-maker and works as an assistant to Director of Photography.
The movie works because of its writing and how the lead pair has delivered the lines that director Gautam Menon wrote.Except for a couple of songs,it’s a breeze. It goes on quite well ..but then in late late second half it just takes off ..owing to some briliant writing as well as filming.One has to watch that scene in the park (which park ,I won’t tell) to understand that the film has really pulled off something immensely beautiful .
Trisha has a presence that is likeable and she enacts the awkwardness,uneasyness of her character splendidly .She is sure of her decisions but still wavering in confidence.Viewed from the outside,she is not the angel that Karthik sees her as ..she is not .But such is love…you idealise the loved ones .Love helps shove their oddities and inconsistencies.
Simbu as Karthik is top notch as we watch him pine for Jessie and how he makes the most of what he has .Together they make a above average couple who can be related to.They look and feel every bit destined for each other despite all that they don’t have in common.Whether they are destined to,how it all plays out, is another matter .For that you have to watch Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa .
The interval is a surprise and so is the end.In my opinion,the best,finest and the most refined movie released in
