Vaagai Sooda Va

So, I heard not so good feedback about ‘Vaagai Sooda Vaa’ and stayed away for long enough. I thought I’d give it a shot finally. Ever heard, don’t go by what you read in the media, just check it out yourself. This is that kind of a movie. Simple, yet painstakingly crafted little “message” movie.

I’m a sucker for anything vintage and fell in love with this movie even before I watched it. The movie happens in 1966 and every frame is artistically filled with artifacts from that age, but none too intrusive to stand out screaming for attention. Even simple village chores are carefully choreographed, you can’t help but wonder how a (relatively) young Director (A Sargunam) had managed to ingest such subtleties from that era.

The story takes its own sweet time to unfold. The love is unforced, the kids don’t exactly flock to the classroom, until (almost) towards the end and the “villain” does not menace around as you would typically expect in a Tamil movie. Watching the songs, I wish we could have stayed fixed in those uncomplicated times.

The hand-picked cast (Vimal, Iniya, K Bhagyaraj, Elango, Thambi Ramiah & a host of kids) adds to the charm of the movie. An unconventional love story and an undramatic climax may be underwhelming to many, but it still turned out a winner for me.