One Year of Viswasam - An Appreciation

The overwhelming success of Viswasam not only put Ajith Kumar and Siva back on track but also restored faith in the 'commercial' style of filmmaking. Why I put that in inverted commas will be revealed towards the end. Now, let's delve into the success mantra of Viswasam.

Characters are the pillars of a story. A good film has at the least one pivotal character with a well-designed character arc. Viswasam has not one but five characters with an arc.

1. A combat-ready Thookudurai in the end takes blows from the villain to save his daughter.
2. Niranjana leaves Thookudurai fearing his violent behaviour could cost their daughter's life, but in the end realises that he would sacrifice his own to save his daughter's.
3. Shwetha grows up hating her father. She identifies a father in Thookudurai, and later finds out he's the real one.
4. Gautham Veer, a businessman who would never give up on his numero uno position, thrusts his dreams upon his daughter. In the end he's enlightened.
5. Neha—Gautham's daughter—attempts suicide after failing to meet her dad's expectations. Her passion for sports brings her back in game.

The screenplay of Viswasam is non-linear. We're introduced to the main conflict in the beginning itself. The central character—Thookudurai—is separated with his wife, the reason for which is revealed in the run-up to intermission. The villain poses threat to Shwetha's life, the reason for which is revealed in a subplot in the latter half, and Thookudurai vows to protect his daughter from the villain at the halfway point. The second half is about how Thookudurai wins over the villain and reunites with his family.

It is interesting to note that Shwetha and Neha share a lot in common. They're embodiments of love. Shwetha does hate her father but that's only because she thought he never came to see her after separation. Later when she's revealed Thookudurai is her father, she doesn't seek revenge unlike her mother but readily accepts him.

Shwetha reports Neha's malpractice which leads to the latter's suicide attempt, but Shwetha also helps Neha recover. Neha's love for her father, on the other hand, is coupled with adulation. Father is her role model and she goes to the extent of taking her own life for not meeting his standards. Again, it's her love for sports and not the urge to succeed—as taught by her father—that brings her back to life.

Thookudurai and Niranjana, however, are contrasting characters. When Niranjana is faced with trouble from hooligans who vandalise her medical camp, she refrains from seeking Thoothudurai's help, which he eventually does unsolicited. When Niranjana proposes marriage, Thookudurai, although interested is hesitant because he's anything but her—uneducated and all.

Niranjana opens up—she's calculative and would kill for anything that brings happiness. The village, she says, is brimming with joy, and so she wants it. She doesn't talk much of Thookudurai's character at this point but would later estrange for the same. The violent nature of Thookudurai is explained in the verse anbaiyum thittitthaan solluvom (even love we express by scolding) of Vettikattu song. That's typical of a villager, though not essentially a generalisation because villages are known for their serenity as well.

Feature films are invariably commercial. A film is judged 'commercial' if it contains 'unnecessary' ingredients such as songs, comedy and stunt sequences. Well, who decides what's necessary for a film? The writer/director does, perhaps. For the business filmmaking is, the people's verdict determines success or failure. That's that.