''Va'' ( ta, வ; Tamil numeral for 1/4; working title: ''Va Quarter Cutting'') is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language

black comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...

written and directed by Pushkar-Gayathri. It stars

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

SPB Charan Sripathi Panditharadhyula Charan is an Indian film playback singer, actor, producer and director known for his works in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema. He is the son of legendary singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. He first worked as a playbac ...

and

Lekha Washington Lekha Washington is an Indian actress, artist, and product designer who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu language films. She was first recognised for her work as a sculptor in 2002 and then as a theatre actress in Chennai based sta ...

, with

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) ...

John Vijay John Vijay (born 20 November 1976) is an Indian actor who plays supporting roles in Tamil films. He has also worked in a few Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. Career John Vijay did his M.Sc. in Visual Communication from Loyola College ...

and

Abhinayashree Abhinayashree is an evicted contestant on ''Bigg Boss (Telugu season 6)''. Career Her first major role came in Siddique's 2001 Tamil comedy '' Friends'', which featured her alongside Vijay and Suriya. She received a breakthrough in her car ...

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. The movie was a box office

Sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

made within a shoestring budget of 2 crore. The film, produced by Sashikanth Sivaji's YNOT Studios and distributed by Dhayanidhi Alagiri's

Cloud Nine Movies Cloud Nine Movies was an Indian film production and distribution company, based in Chennai. It is owned by Dayanidhi Azhagiri and Vivek Rathinavel and was founded in 2008 until 2014. He founded another new production company in 2013, Meeka Ent ...

, features film score composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar and cinematography by

Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an as ...

. The shooting of the film commenced in early 2010 and was held at various locations in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Plot

Sunderrajan aka Sura (

) 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 (

), who attempts suicide after her parents scold her, and King-Prince, a father-son duo (both roles played by

) 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

as Sunderrajan (Sura) * S. P. B. Charan as Marthandan, Sura's brother-in-law *

as Saraswathi (Saro) *

as Pichai (Prince) and King *

as Sokkathangam *

as Singari Sundaram *

Kaali Venkat Kaali Venkat (born 5 May 1984) is an Indian actor who mainly appears in Tamil language films. Personal life Venkat hails from Kudaiyadevanpatti a village near Kovilpatti. Venkat used to act in dramas during his school days. With an ambition to ...

as Mano *

R. Amarendran R Amarendran (also known as Amarendran Ramanan or Amar) is an Indian theatre director and actor who has directed and acted in several plays in English and French staged in Chennai and Pondicherry. R. Amarendran's love for acting started in the ...

as Gnani *

Manikka Vinayagam Manikka Vinayagam (10 December 1943 – 26 December 2021) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He sang for South Indian language films and acted in several Tamil films as a character artist. He was the son of the dancer Vazhuvoor B. Ramia ...

* Krishnamoorthy * Craig Gallyot as Babyface *

Arya Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

as Chandru (guest appearance)

Production

Development

Sashikanth Sivaji of YNOT Studios, began discussions for his next production in late 2009, when filming his 2010 blockbuster ''

Thamizh Padam ''Thamizh Padam'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language parody film written and directed by C. S. Amudhan in his directorial debut. The film stars Shiva and Disha Pandey. Thamizh Padam was the first full-length spoof in Tamil cinema. It parodies co ...

''. 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 ''Oram Po'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film starring Arya and Pooja, while Lal and John Vijay play supporting roles. The film, written and directed by the debutant husband-wife duo, Pushkar–Gayathri, was produced by V. ...

'', 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 ''

'', 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 Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

's Entertainment Tax Exemption Act, which demands titles of creative works to be in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

only. Thus, the film's title was changed to ''Va'', meaning one-fourths.

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 "A" certificate by the

Indian Censor Board The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

Soundtrack

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 ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment ...

, Amelie,

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Ma ...

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and Snatch. ; Tracklist

References

External links

* {{Pushkar–Gayathri 2010 comedy films 2010 films 2010s comedy road movies 2010s Tamil-language films Films about alcoholism Films scored by G. V. Prakash Kumar Films set in Chennai Films shot in Chennai Indian black comedy films Indian comedy road movies Films directed by Pushkar–Gayathri