Gautham Vasudev Menon is back with a film straight from the heart. The director, who believes in meaningful cinema, is trying to push the cinematic envelope with Vaaranam Aayiram.

The film is clearly meant for niche audiences, and not for mass viewing. It is a tribute to the director’s dad, who passed away last year. The treatment and narration are purely autobiographical with most of it taken from real life incidents laced with cinematic liberties.

In a nutshell, the film is personal and deals with the deep bonding between a loving and devoted father and his son who is trying to discover himself.

The film begins with an elderly person (Surya) dying.This news is informed to his son Surya (Surya). He then thinks about his father and his life’s journey. Krishnan (Surya) is a college student. So is Malini (Simran Bagga). They fall in love with each other and get married. They soon have a son ,Surya. He grows up more as a friend to his father. He then joins a college near Tiruchi. There he takes part in various cultural activities and develop his guitarist skills. When he is on a train back home after completion of college, he meets Meghna (Sameera Reddy). He soon proposes to her which she rejects saying that they had only known each other for a very short period and its not possible to fall in love like that.

Surya then tells her that wherever she goes, he will meet her. Later, he finds Meghna’s house and meets her there. There she tells that she is going to University of California, Berkeley to pursue higher education. After that Krishnan, Surya’s father, falls sick and is admitted to the hospital. Then on, an inspired Surya obtains various projects and finally builds a house. After that, he goes to the U.S and meets Meghna there. After some days Meghna proposes to him and they stay happily for a few days. Then she goes to Oklahoma on a tour but dies there in a bomb blast. A disheartened Surya then decides to come back to India. He meets a person in the airport who tries to console him with his words. In India, he meets Priya (Divya Spandana), his sister’s friend. But being unable to forget Meghna, he starts taking drugs. He is then sent to Kashmir to rejuvenate himself. There he learns that Aditya, the son of the person who inspired him in the airport was kidnapped.He soon goes and visits them at Delhi. Upon seeing the lethargic attitude of the police, he takes matters into his own hands and goes in search of the kidnappers. After days of roaming streets and gathering information, he finally locates the kidnapper and the place where Aditya is kept and rescues him from the kidnappers. Back home, Surya starts to go out with his sister and Priya. One day Priya proposes to him but he doesn’t respond. Then he joins the army. After 6 years, Priya comes there to meet him and proposes again; this time he accepts and they marry and have children. Suddenly Krishnan is diagnosed of throat cancer and is operated. After some days Surya is called upon to go on a rescue mission to rescue a journalist. But when he is out there, Krishnan dies.The movie ends with Surya, his sister, Malini and Priya mixing his ashes in the sea and waking away.

The film demands great patience to sit through and is an overdose of emotions. If the film holds on, it is because of its music and superb performance of Surya. On the whole, the film is optimistic, fresh and emotionally honest.