| Vaaranam Aayiram | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gautham Vasudev Menon |
| Written by | Gautham Vasudev Menon |
| Produced by | V. Ravichandran |
| Starring | Suriya Simran Sameera Reddy Ramya |
| Narrated by | Suriya |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Edited by | Anthony Gonsalvez |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Cloud Nine Movies (worldwide) Bharat Creations (United States) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 170 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Vaaranam Aayiram (transl. A Thousand Elephants) is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action drama film[1] written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and produced by V. Ravichandran of Aascar Films. The film stars Suriya in dual lead roles as father and son, with Simran, Sameera Reddy (in her Tamil debut), and Ramya in the female lead roles. The film features music composed by Harris Jayaraj, making Vaaranam Aayiram his last project with Menon before the formal break-up of their partnership, until they worked together again in Yennai Arindhaal (2015). The cinematography for the film was handled by R. Rathnavelu and the editing was done by Anthony Gonsalvez.
The film illustrates Suriya, an Indian Army Major who learns about his father Krishnan's death when he is on a rescue mission. He then starts reminiscing about the bond he shared with Krishnan and the stories related to him. The storyline was inspired by Menon's life, when he heard the news about his father's death back in 2007, also serving as a tribute to him. Filmed across India and the United States, Vaaranam Aayiram had been under production since November 2006 and was completed in August 2008. The film was theatrically released on 14 November 2008, after multiple postponements, and opened to critical acclaim and praise for Suriya's dual role performance. Further, the film also became a commercial success, eventually becoming the biggest hit in Suriya's career at that time. It won a number of awards, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.[2] The film has attained cult status over time.[3]
- ^ "Vaaranam Aayiram". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "It's Suriya all the way!!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "Decades-old Tamil movies are re-releasing and film buffs are thrilled". The News Minute. 10 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.