No introductions. I am getting straight to the topic. One more thing, the names of directors are not according to any order. Equal preference to all.

Gautham Vasudev Menon – Every frame in his movies has style written all over it. I still consider his movie Kaka Kaka as the best cop film ever. Vaaranam Aayiram was a truly magical emotional experience which brought back memories of my dad. Keeps films and film making simple, which itself is the beauty of his films.

Ranjith – One of Kerala’s finest script writers who knows how best to treat commercial flicks and sensitive films. Thirakkatha is one of the finest example of this man’s creativity and knowledge about cinema. He knows what he wants from films and more importantly what the audience wants from his films.

Sasikumar – This name would sound familiar if I mentioned the word Subramaniyapuram. The manner in which he chose a perfectly ordinary subject and made it extraordinary is really magical. His eye for perfection is easily visible in the way he has set Subramaniyapuram, selected its locations, songs and cast.

Sekar Kammula – Another name you will recognise with the word ‘Happy Days’. A mechanical engineering graduate, he entered the film industry and captured attention with his movies. A person who has eye for simplicity server cinema in the most preferable manner avoiding over dramatization, vulagrity and violence. He is the true king of feel good love stories and master in introducing new talent.

Shankar - One word that can be associated with all his movies are ‘Extravagance’. Filmed in amazing sets with eye catchy duets, melodious music and breath taking frames, he is the true master of big budget movies. His midas touch and no compromise attitude towards quality is amazing which has helped him maintain a zero flop track record.

Vaaranam Aayiram (meaning: Strength of a thousand elephants) deals with father son relationship in a manner never before seen. The movie is a flashback when the younger Surya (a military officer) is thinking about the relationship he shared with his dad (also played by Surya) after he hears the news of his father’s death.

The movie is truly refreshing and its biggest strength is Surya. Surya’s look as a 16 year old, 24 year old and as the father is truly awesome. Surya lives the character and delivers his best ever performance. Sameera Reddy and Divya Spandana do their little parts well. Simran as Surya’s mother is truly amazing.

The music by Harris Jayaraj is fantastic. Cinematography and editing are superb. The narrative could have been better. The main drawback of the movie is the slow first half and the length of the movie. But all credits to director Gautham Menon for providing such a visually and emotionally rich movie.

The movie presents us with truly memorable scenes like the one in which Surya meets Sameera for this first time, or the one in which he goes to her house or the one in which he searches for he in California. All scenes are realistic and far from fantasy which is why this movie works for me.

Gautham Menon said that this movie was a tribute to his father and so it is.

Rating: 8/10