Varnam (2011 film)
Varnam is a 2011 Indian Tamil drama film directed by Raju S. M., starring Giridharan, Monica, Sampath Raj, Aathish, Aswatha and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles.[2][3][4] Varnam is the story of seventeen-year-old Mani learning that privilege and prejudice have a price. Mani's uncle Durai exploits the helpless lower caste farmers. Mani's teacher Kavitha questions Mani's prejudices. His inner turmoil and violent consequences of his casual acts form rest of the story.
Varnam | |
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Directed by | Raju S. M. |
Produced by | Rajendran Sivasankaran Santosh Sivan Jegan Subramaniam (Co-producer) |
Written by | Krishna Davinci Balaji Dharanidharan Maruthupandian Stalin S.M.Raju |
Starring | Giridharan Monica Sampath Raj Aathish Aswatha Vijay Sethupathi |
Music by | Isaac Thomas Kottukapally |
Cinematography | Premkumar |
Edited by | Madhan Gunadeva |
Production company | Mediazen |
Distributed by | Mediazen |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Budget | ₹ 3.5 crores[1] |
Plot
Privilege and prejudice have a price. Varnam is the story of seventeen-year-old Mani learning that the hard way. Unable to put up with Mani's troublesome antics, his mother sends him to his distant uncle Durai's home for his +2 studies. Mani, who had lost his father in a tragic caste related incident in their village ten years ago, wishes to seek revenge for his father's death. But, he doesn't know Velu, a lower caste person, who was responsible for his father's death. Mani understands that memory is necessary for revenge and he keeps his desire for revenge alive by repeatedly sketching his father's image.
Mani's uncle Durai and his partner Rathnam own a midsize coffee estate. They use their position and money to exploit the helpless lower caste farmers. Durai takes Mani under his wings and Mani enjoys every bit of his uncle's authority. Durai also wants to marry Rathnam's sister Kavitha who happens to be Mani's teacher at school.
Kavitha becomes very upset with Mani's prejudiced behavior when he humiliates a lower caste teacher in the class. To Mani's chagrin, Kavitha asks Mani to learn from Thangam, a fellow student who is also a lower caste girl. As Kavitha learns more about Mani and his sketching, she is supportive of his talent and this helps Mani to see Kavitha in a totally new light.
This is the setup in which Mani's journey into adulthood starts where he is deeply influenced both by his uncle Durai and his teacher Kavitha. His inner turmoil to reconcile with his prejudices, his desire to seek revenge, his liking for Thangam and certain irrevocable and violent consequences of his seemingly casual acts form the rest of the story of this powerful action drama.
Cast
- Giridharan as Mani
- Monica as Kavitha
- Aathish
- Aswatha as Thangam
- Sampath as Durai
- Vijay Sethupathi as Nandha
- Muthukumar
- Karate Raja
Festivals
Varnam has been the official selection in the following prestigious film festivals:
- Montreal World Film Festival in 2011
- London Asian Film Festival 2011
- Chennai International Film Festival 2011
- Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards 2012,
- New York Indian Film Festival 2012
- Roxbury Film Festival 2012
References
- "Varnam Synopsis". Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- http://www.filmics.com/Tamil-Movie-Reviews-In-English/varnam-movie-review.html
- "Varnam' is a must watch". Ibn Live. 10 December 2011.
- "Varnam". sify. 10 December 2011.