''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 olde ...

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 playback sin ...

and Lekha Washington , with Kalyan, John Vijay 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 caree ...

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 YNOT Studios (stylised as Y?NOT) is an Indian film production company in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, established by producer S. Sashikanth. As of 2020, the company has produced 18 feature films, which includes productions made in the Tamil, Telugu, ...

and distributed by

Dhayanidhi Alagiri Dhayanidhi Azhagiri is an Indian Tamil cinema producer and distributor. He is the owner of the Cloud Nine Movies banner. His grandfather is M. Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. His father is M. K. Alagiri, the former Minis ...

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 G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian composer, actor, producer and singer known for his work in Tamil films and a few Telugu films as well. His first film was S Pictures' ''Veyil'' (2006) and he became popular in Tamil cinema by the early 2010s. He ...

and cinematography by Nirav Shah. 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 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 playback s ...

), 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

as Sunderrajan (Sura) *

as Marthandan, Sura's brother-in-law * Lekha Washington as Saraswathi (Saro) * John Vijay as Pichai (Prince) and King * Kalyan as Sokkathangam *

as Singari Sundaram * Kaali Venkat 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. Ramiah ...

* Krishnamoorthy * Craig Gallyot as Babyface * Arya as Chandru (guest appearance)

Production

Development

Sashikanth Sivaji of

, 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'', 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 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, nati ...

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.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack scored by

. 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 written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...

, Amelie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,

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