Va (film)

Va (Tamil: வ; Tamil numeral for 1/4; working title: Va Quarter Cutting) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir comedy film written and directed by Pushkar-Gayathri. It stars Shiva, SPB Charan and Lekha Washington in the lead roles, with Kalyan, John Vijay and Abhinayashree playing supporting roles. The film's story takes place in one night, in which a man, with the help of his would-be brother-in-law, hunts for a last liquor before leaving to Saudi Arabia.

Va
Directed byPushkar-Gayathri
Produced bySashikanth Sivaji
Written byPushkar-Gayathri
StarringShiva
Lekha Washington
S. P. B. Charan
Music byG. V. Prakash Kumar
CinematographyNirav Shah
Edited byAnthony
Production
company
Distributed byCloud Nine Movies
Release date
5 November 2010
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

The film tells the story of Sunderrajan aka Sura, who with the help of his sister's fiancé Marthandam, hunts for liquor on a dry day in Chennai before leaving to Saudi Arabia.[1]

The movie was a Sleeper hit success. The film, produced by Sashikanth Sivaji's Y NOT Studios and distributed by Dhayanidhi Alagiri's Cloud Nine Movies, features film score composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar and cinematography by Nirav Shah. The shooting of the film commenced in early 2010 and was held at various locations in Chennai.

Plot

Sunderrajan aka Sura (Shiva) comes to Chennai from Coimbatore on his way to Saudi Arabia. He is received by Marthandam (S. P. B. Charan), a veterinary doctor who is going to marry his sister soon. After the travel agent informs Sura that he cannot taste liquor or women in Saudi, he and Marthandam go to a wine shop to have the last gulp. It is a dry day thanks to elections. Sura is determined to taste the 'quarter' and starts his journey to various places in Chennai where he is told that liquor would be available. He goes to a politico who supplies wine for votes, a star hotel, an Anglo-Indian group of youngsters, a fish market, a gambling den, a kulfi shop, and a brothel house, among other places, all in search of 'quarter'. During his trip, he meets Saraswathi aka Saro (Lekha Washington), who attempts suicide after her parents scold her, and King-Prince, a father-son duo (both roles played by John Vijay) who runs a gambling center. How Sura, in the company of Marthandam and Saro, succeeds in his mission and leaves for Saudi forms the remaining story.

Cast

Easter Eggs

One of the main highlights of the movie are Easter eggs in this film - the arts and paintings depicted in the background of each scene that portrays the exact similarities of the scene. If you watch the film background arts and paintings closely, you will analyse it.

Production

Development
When I was doing Tamizh Padam, Sashikanth of 'Y Not' studios approached me with Quarter Cutting script. I read and liked it and gave my assent. He approached Durai Dayanidhi and Vivek Ratnavelu of Cloud Nine and decided to make the film under their banner. It was truly a good experience to have worked with Pushkar and Gayatri as they are passionate film makers. During the shoot, they never gave proper breaks. I would be dreaming to have my food at 9 PM and they would come and say, 'machi, today no break, please eat your food fast'. I have worked in many films and break times are something to look forward to. But here, they would never announce breaks and to top it all, the shooting was from 6 PM to 6 AM. The entire biorhythm was changed but Pushkar and Gayatri were working like ghosts because they were so involved in the film. I think they are technically talented and know all the shots. -Shiva.[2]

Sashikanth Sivaji of Y NOT Studios, began discussions for his next production in late 2009, when filming his 2010 blockbuster Thamizh Padam. He decided to work with director-duo Pushkar-Gayathri who he thought had a fresh and different script. Fresh out of the success of their debut venture Oram Po, the husband-wife duo had worked on a script that revolved around the local flavors of Chennai. They wanted their next film to be a contrast to Oram Po, which too was based on Chennai and hence worked on a comedy script for their second movie.

The film was publicized under the title Va: Quarter Cutting, but due to the use of English words, it did not meet the requirements for the then Government of Tamil Nadu's Entertainment Tax Exemption Act, which demands titles of creative works to be in Tamil only. Thus, the film's title was changed to Va, meaning one-fourths.[3]

Filming

Filming began in early 2010. Shooting was carried out in and around Chennai in the following weeks. The film's main portions were extensively shot across places in the old city and Marina beach.

Release

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar. The film was given a "U/A" certificate by the Indian Censor Board.

Soundtrack
Va
Soundtrack album by
G. V. Prakash Kumar
Released4 September 2010 (2010-09-04)
RecordedY Not Studio
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length19:20
LabelThink Music
ProducerG. V. Prakash Kumar
G. V. Prakash Kumar chronology
Darling
(2010)		 Va
(2010)		 Aadukalam
(2010)

Soundtrack scored by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The track Unnai Kan Thedudhe is heavily inspired by his own Un Mela Aasadhan from Aayirathil Oruvan. Several parts of the score are adapted from soundtracks of the films Kill Bill, Amelie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Sherlock Holmes and Snatch.

Tracklist
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Dialogue 1" Shiva, S. P. B. Charan0:25
2."Unnai Kan Thedudhe"KumararajaG. V. Prakash Kumar, Gana Ulaganathan3:39
3."Dialogue 2"  0:15
4."Thediyae Thediyae"KumararajaAndrea Jeremiah5:30
5."Dialogue 3"SnehanShiva0:17
6."Saudi Basha"Shiva, R. AmarendranG. V. Prakash Kumar, Bhargavi3:10
7."Dialogue 4" Shiva, S. P. B. Charan0:06
8."Saarpu Saarpu Ji"KumararajaG. V. Prakash Kumar, Lakshmikanth3:38
9."The Quarter Song"KumararajaG. V. Prakash Kumar, Gana Ulaganathan, Remix: DJ Vijay Chawla3:38
Total length:19:20

References
  1. http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/Cut-and-dried/article15685542.ece
  2. http://www.videos.behindwoods.com/videos-q1-09/actor-actress-interview/shiva.html
  3. "Va: Cutting of the Quarter! Why?". Behindwoods. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
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