Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa - Will you cross the skies for me?

In February 2010, I and my colleague had gone for official work to a place called Sultan Bathery near Calicut, Kerala. Impromptu bandhs being the nature of life in Kerala, it was our turn to suffer one. But everything eased out by the evening and we wanted to venture out after being inside the whole day. It was late at night and we went for the night show of a movie. It was not much of a theatre - not much can be expected in a small hamlet - but it served the purpose. The movie was Gautham Vasudev Menon's take on an urban romance, titled, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (Will you cross the skies for me?) (2010, Tamil). With A R Rahman's scintillating music & background score and  Manoj Parahamahamsa's wonderful cinematography, this movie did catch my attention.

I am a diehard romantic, a person who believes in romance and tries to see a sense of mysticism, perhaps the surreal, in everyday things.

The reason why I feel that this is one of the most earthy and realistic romances I have seen weaved on screen is that it is very relatable. Very, very relatable. There are no over the top reactions from the hero or the heroine, the romance is subtly depicted and on top of everything, the events in the movie can actually happen in real life. The biggest plus of a Gautham Menon movie is its strong women characters. I love to see really strong willed women on screen as they are really very rare on Indian screens. He explores the feminine side of them, but never are they shown as props in a movie. There is an element of vulnerability in them, which is subtly portrayed and not exploited or made fun of. And yes, his movies have a lot of English in them, which I can relate to.

The following is the story (spoilers ahead, but for an almost 6 year old movie, well, it is not very relevant).

Set in Madras. Karthik (Simbu), is a mechanical engineering student just out of college wants to become a movie director Against the wishes of his family, he joins as an assistant director. His best buddy on the sets is cameraman Ganesh (Ganesh) - the two hunt for locations, share philosophies about life and become good friends.

One day, a saree-clad Jessie (Trisha Krishnan) passes him by on the street - and he's instantly besotted with her (perhaps the only 'filmy' moment in the movie)  He starts following her everywhere and one fine day (I am cutting all the 'follow me' moments short) he confesses to her that he's ' in love with her and crazy about her.'

Jessie, however, is shocked but not impressed. She is then shown to be a Malayali, a Syrian Christian from Alappuzha. She tries to reason with him firmly but politely stating that she will never get the consent of her family for this. She does not even say whether she reciprocates his feelings. He is expectedly dejected but still continues pursuing her, very passionately. Every time she rebuffs him. But he continues, thinking and firmly believing that her heart says that she has feelings for him.

Then they agree to be 'friends'. However, he books a train seat next to her during the course of a trip of hers outside the city. During the course of the journey, they realise that they are more than just friends. The eros was no doubt from Karthik's side anyway, but Jessie is confused. Jessie is to be married and on the day of the wedding, she  calls it off. She finally succumbs to the feelings of her heart and does tell Karthik that she is indeed in love with him.

But circumstances and family pressures force her to change the decision and she asks Karthik to forget her. He does meet her later (after three years) and finds that she is married, perhaps happy. She asks him to move on in life. He says he is unable to.

Karthik, now a director, makes a movie about their romance and it is released to good reviews. She watches the movie with him. It is left to the imagination of the viewer whether he could move on.

The movie does not have melodrama though there are certain places where it can get heavy. The romantic scenes depicted are very subtle, very beautiful. Generally movie romances have a "feel good" feeling if they end on a 'happy' note. In this movie, the lovers do not get each other in the end. But it does not end on a sad note. It is rather very practical and shows the pain in love but is not heart wrenching or tuggingly melodramatic. The movie is slow because of the genre and the involvement of the director in crafting the scenes where romance is shown in the eyes of the protagonists.

One of the poignant points raised by the movie is whether you can be friends with a girl you were in love with. In this movie, the hero of course does not have a choice. When the girl asks him to move on, he is certainly disappointed but doesn't get violent and mar his life. The movie also brings out the  reasons / thoughts a girl has in her head while deciding on a romance or life as such. It portrays the frustrations and rejections in love and  how the characters react to them.

Both the boy and the girl are confused as to why they fell in love with each other. This is one of the strongest points of romance and is something a person in love with relate to. The fact that love transcends logic is only well brought out in the movie.

The movie, a big hit, kept me engaged the whole time. Trisha has played the role of a confused 'very much in love but very much not in love' woman perfectly. She does not show her feelings, like women in general, to the boy till she opens her mouth. She is very confused, as every person is, when in love. One of the things that was very confusing but relatable is that this girl is able to call of the wedding with a person she does not like but is unable to go against her family's wishes and pursue her love. The fact that a strong willed person can take a decision in life on one occasion but can falter in the other is naturally conveyed in these scenes.

So far, in his career, this is the best role Simbu has done and his dialogue delivery, modulation and facial expressions endear him to you. The best part of the movie was that the man respects the woman and does not violate her space while trying his best to convey his feelings.

This is my most favorite movie of Gautham Menon. Kudos! Non-Tamil viewers, watch it with subtitles on.

I have translated some of the best dialogues from the movie here, in English:

1.        When Jessie calls of the wedding in the church in Kerala:

Karthik : What you did was too much in the Church, Jessie. Why, Jessie, did you not like the boy? 
Jessie : You like me Karthik. I am in love with you , Karthik.

Karthik: Did you realise that in this Church  (in Kerala) only? Are there no churches in Chennai? (implying that she could have done this back in Madras itself)

2.        Jessie to Karthik, when they are undecided about their course of action:

"I like this pain, Karthik"

3.        When after one of those wooing sessions:

Jessie: "I hate you..."
Karthik: "Thank you!"

4.        Karthik and Jessie meet after three years and she asks him to explain his love, perhaps in the movie which he has shot:

"Tall, kind of curly hair, You smile when she walks, she has a lovely voice...she  hates foul language... she often wears saris........individualistic, she has her own style, she hardly uses a makeup kit....... she loves me crazy...... we have been out a lot .........and she hates watching movies!" 

5.        And when Jessie asks Karthik to move on, this is what he says:

"I have kissed her, her Tamil has a Malayalam touch, I actually flipped for that. I have held her in my arms for hours. I have caressed her feet. she's still there in my life.. After you left me, Jessie, I moved on....but to her.. can't forget my first love that easily.. however, I am not there in her life."

6.       One of Karthik's interchanges to his cameraman friend:

"There is no use living a life if we are unable to live with the person who we like the most. Of all the girls in this world, why did I fall in love with Jessie?"

"We cannot decide, in advance, whom we will fall in love with. Love happens by itself" 

7.         And my favorite, which I say all the time:-

"Love is a one way ticket....to heartbreak city!"

Amen to that!