"Varusham 16"

 

Fazil has been one of the most respected directors in Malayalam and Tamil films over the past couple of decades.  He is one director who has an admirable range as well as astonishing depth in his creations.  He has made accomplished thrillers like "Poovizhi Vaasalile", comedies, romances and family dramas.  It is the blend of the last two where he has been in peak form.  One of his biggest successes "Kaadhalukku Mariyaadhai," falls into this category but I have never had a great admiration for that movie.  But "Varusham Padhinaaru" is an exquisitely crafted human drama that has Fazil at the top of his game, ably assisted by a fantastic cast.

 

"Varusham 16" is one of the most believable, simple, unassuming, poignant motion pictures that I've seen.  This is about a huge family, their experiences during a summer at the family's palatial house in a village, their joys, sorrows, tragedies...put succinctly, its about human emotions.  The family consists of Poornam Vishwanathan, the grandpa whose biggest and only love is the family, his brother V.K.Ramaswamy, VKR's wife Sukumari, their daughter Jayabarathi and their grandson, the apple of everyone's eye-- Karthik.  Their other granddaughter Kushboo (Karthik's childhood flame) makes a visit from Delhi for the village festival.  And the movie is all about the family's experiences during these few weeks.  See, as I said, it is a very simple story.  But cinema is a medium where it is really 'how' you show something more than 'what' you show, that really matters.

 

One of the major plus points of the movie is the way the first hour or so creates a hugely realistic family atmosphere.  Poornam Vishwanathan's character is one reason why we are deeply attached to this family.  The way he projects his unbound love for the family and his worries about the astrologer's predictions are done in a subtle yet powerful way and this makes us root for the happiness of the whole family.

 

The movie's middle portions focus on the Karthik-Kushboo romance.  There are several cute, ManiRatnam-ish touches pervading these portions.  Karthik plays the playful part to perfection adding a couple of extra dimensions too--his statements about the privileges that he takes with his family members and how he is not apologetic when he goes overboard, is a facet hitherto unexplored in Tamil movie heroes.  Karthik and Kushboo share excellent chemistry, which is evident in the lighter scenes.  Kushboo is very good at expressing the shy, tender side of her character and this adds weight to her portrayal in the sequences where Karthik is not convinced that she reciprocates his love.

 

Although the romance portions are done very well, the movie's real strength is the delicate presentation of the relationships among the family members.  The interactions between Karthik and the other family members like Poornam Vishwanathan, VKR and the servant (and confidant) Janakaraj are delightful.  I loved the way Janakaraj is involved in the family's important matters.  It is touching the way he joins Poornam Vishwanathan in the latter's 'fast.'  There are several other little moments--like the way VKR talks with great pride about Karthik in front of Vadivukkarasi in the introduction scene--that illustrate the pains that were taken to ensure that we are basking in the sunny nature of these characters.

 

The bonds have been established so well in the first 3/4ths of the running time that the tragedy at the end becomes unbearable.  Fazil shows how powerful a simple image can be, in the last scene--the camera pans across the portrait photos of the family members who've passed away.  When we get to realize that these people (of course, 'characters' to be technically correct) are no more, we shed a tear or two in that harsh realization.  This marks the greatest victory of the Director--he created these loveable characters, and after spending 2.5 hours in their company we find it hard to digest the loss of some of them…

 

Performances are the other reason the movie works exceedingly well.  This is one of Karthik's masterful portrayals.  Although it is the same personality that he plays in most of his movies, his assured balancing act here deserves a round of applause.  He brings in the right mix of playfulness and maturity to the character of Kannan, driving us to tears in the scene where he loses his face in front of the whole family.  Kushboo looks very pretty and emotes with conviction. 

 

In spite of the lead pair doing well, it is the supporting cast that really scores--Poornam Vishwanathan makes a very loveable head of the family. The final scene where we just hear his voice in the background ("Kannaa, Velakkaethi Vei daa"), it creates a numbing effect.  VKR is hilarious throughout.  The way he makes fun of Karthik after the big fight, ("Kadarkaraikku poay olaathittu vaa daa") giving us an idea of how mood changes can be created by talented actors, without appearing to be jarring or awkward.  Janakaraj is his usual self, having us in splits most of the time and yet creating a lifelike human instead of a caricature.  Sukumari, Vadivukkarasi and Jayabarathi are all good, never taking a false step.  Only the bearded villain sticks out like a sore thumb.  He is grating and totally over the top that I kept wondering whether he was in the wrong movie!

 

Illayaraja's bgm score is soothing, especially the theme music where the sounds of the flute is as good as any lullaby.  Among the songs, "PazhamudhirCholai,"  "Poopookum Vaasam" and "Gangaikarai Mannan" are mellifluous.  "Ey! Ayya Saami" is a fun song and is well picturized.