The best cinematography in Mari Selvaraj's career so far. All the earlier scenes was used purely as a build-up for the final 30 minutes, which are the absolute, crushing core of the movie. It is a great piece of filmmaking, but knowing that this tragedy is a true story makes it a deeply sad watch. RIP.

The best cinematography in Mari Selvaraj's career so far. All the earlier scenes was used purely as a build-up for the final 30 minutes, which are the absolute, crushing core of the movie. It is a great piece of filmmaking, but knowing that this tragedy is a true story makes it a deeply sad watch. RIP.

best tamil movie of an absolutely stacked year of tamil cinema

Vaazhai for me is a movie, above all else, about perspective. what you want today might be the opposite of what you need tomorrow. you might hate carrying piles of bananas on your head all day today, but tomorrow you may be running in hunger, desperate to find a single banana. and when you eventually get lucky, you're punished by a completely unfamiliar face. you run to familiar territory. you just need some food. but you're further punished, now by a familiar face. 

she doesn't understand your plight, your hunger, what you've just been through. but is she wrong? all that goes through her mind is that her children need to work for the family to survive. she needs to make sure you're disciplined, and that you have principles. but the next day brings devastation. now she's a mess. the very thing she thrashed you for the day earlier is what she thanks god for today. principles are out the window, her son is alive. a part of her family still exists. what's above that?

again perspective. all the workers hate the one guy sucking up to the boss, always talking on behalf of the boss, always supporting him, but what can he do? or what DID he actually do wrong? he's tossed around by the workers, and then by the trader. he's left as a middle man, begging to the trader, and being a villain to the workers. he's got the worst of both worlds. but at the end of the day, his dead body lies next to every other worker's dead body. he's not the one your anger should be turned to. but whose perspective are you going to look through?

whoever is right, whoever is wrong, ultimately in this story, regret is what piles up.

so what's Mari Selvaraj trying to say? is he just dishing out meaningless torture for the last 20 or 30 minutes? no, I don't think so. there's for sure joy in this film. i couldn't stop smiling for a good 10 minutes near the start. i think one of the many things he's highlighting is the importance of valuing your life, living it to the fullest, and living in the present, even if you think you can't afford to. yes, prepare for the future, but also learn to live how you want to live on a daily basis, because you never know what's going to happen next. what you really can't afford to do, is take your life for granted. nature gets to us all in the end.

another thing - we don't really know for sure - but i think the cow was bought by their father. and as he is now gone, our protagonist sees the cow as an extension of his father, which is why he's so distraught when his mother sells it. might also explain it's importance to Mari Selvaraj, as the opening shot of the film revolves around the cow, and the shot reccurs for a while until the scene happens. just a theory though.

a beautiful, heart-wrenching film.
whose perspective are you going to look through?


the 25 marker is finished but i just wanted to add: SaNa cooked as usual, great score and album. cinematography is absolutely gorgeous throughout - the film is drenched in beautiful, colourful frames. the visual poetry is a masterclass from Selvaraj and the cinematographer in so many frames. it's also very very wholesome and funny for a good portion of the film, mainly with the teacher stuff. both kids did great. teacher did great. really fun, slice of life type stuff until we get hit by a train at the end there😞.

the kid did so so so well.

best tamil movie of an absolutely stacked year of tamil cinema

Vaazhai for me is a movie, above all else, about perspective. what you want today might be the opposite of what you need tomorrow. you might hate carrying piles of bananas on your head all day today, but tomorrow you may be running in hunger, desperate to find a single banana. and when you eventually get lucky, you're punished by a completely unfamiliar face. you run to familiar territory. you just need some food. but you're further punished, now by a familiar face. 

she doesn't understand your plight, your hunger, what you've just been through. but is she wrong? all that goes through her mind is that her children need to work for the family to survive. she needs to make sure you're disciplined, and that you have principles. but the next day brings devastation. now she's a mess. the very thing she thrashed you for the day earlier is what she thanks god for today. principles are out the window, her son is alive. a part of her family still exists. what's above that?

again perspective. all the workers hate the one guy sucking up to the boss, always talking on behalf of the boss, always supporting him, but what can he do? or what DID he actually do wrong? he's tossed around by the workers, and then by the trader. he's left as a middle man, begging to the trader, and being a villain to the workers. he's got the worst of both worlds. but at the end of the day, his dead body lies next to every other worker's dead body. he's not the one your anger should be turned to. but whose perspective are you going to look through?

whoever is right, whoever is wrong, ultimately in this story, regret is what piles up.

so what's Mari Selvaraj trying to say? is he just dishing out meaningless torture for the last 20 or 30 minutes? no, I don't think so. there's for sure joy in this film. i couldn't stop smiling for a good 10 minutes near the start. i think one of the many things he's highlighting is the importance of valuing your life, living it to the fullest, and living in the present, even if you think you can't afford to. yes, prepare for the future, but also learn to live how you want to live on a daily basis, because you never know what's going to happen next. what you really can't afford to do, is take your life for granted. nature gets to us all in the end.

another thing - we don't really know for sure - but i think the cow was bought by their father. and as he is now gone, our protagonist sees the cow as an extension of his father, which is why he's so distraught when his mother sells it. might also explain it's importance to Mari Selvaraj, as the opening shot of the film revolves around the cow, and the shot reccurs for a while until the scene happens. just a theory though.

a beautiful, heart-wrenching film.
whose perspective are you going to look through?


the 25 marker is finished but i just wanted to add: SaNa cooked as usual, great score and album. cinematography is absolutely gorgeous throughout - the film is drenched in beautiful, colourful frames. the visual poetry is a masterclass from Selvaraj and the cinematographer in so many frames. it's also very very wholesome and funny for a good portion of the film, mainly with the teacher stuff. both kids did great. teacher did great. really fun, slice of life type stuff until we get hit by a train at the end there😞.

the kid did so so so well.

Oh damn. Oh damn. Oh damn.

Oh damn. Oh damn. Oh damn.

There's a scene where Sivanandhan promises his mother that he'll never lie to her and obliges to spend his holidays in the banana fields. That scene really got to me.

There's a scene where Sivanandhan promises his mother that he'll never lie to her and obliges to spend his holidays in the banana fields. That scene really got to me.