Dads are complicated.
Sometimes they are annoying. They fight for the remote. They call you out when you’re wrong.
At other times, they’re pretty cool. The protective tough love. The dad jokes.
This father’s day, we’ve put together 5 scenes from 5 great films to watch with daddy.
Nayagan:
In Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan, when Velu Naicker finds out that his son wants to be just like him when he grows up, he gets upset. Upset enough to send his kids away to another town, far from his life of crime. When they return, he finds out that his now grown up daughter sees the world differently.
She disagrees with his ways, accuses him of playing God, dislikes his way of life, the works.
Like all dads though, Velu is fine with this. He understands that if this is a consequence of his choices. If this is what it takes for her to live a life different from his, then so be it.
We’ve all had moments when we’ve hated our fathers; we’ve felt they are impossible to deal with, some of us still feel that way. But they’ve made peace with it, they have our best interests at heart and if that means we will hate them from time to time they are ready take it. They never get used to it, but they take it.
Yaaradi Nee Mohini:
Vasu’s father (Raghuvaran) is big on tough love. At every chance he gets he snaps at Vasu. But when his instinct tells him Vasu’s going to fall for real, he’s not going to stand by idly. One such intervention leads to an angry Keerthi (Nayanthara) slapping him.
Our hearts melt when he tells his son, “Vasu…En Maela Kai Patathum unaku pithchikitu kovam varudhe, Appa maela avolo pasam vechirukiya da?” And we grin like idiots when he follows it up with “Vayasu Aiduchi nu nenaikariya, enga oorla ippo kuda enakku ponnu kudupanga.”
Classic dad. Says something moving. Follows it up with a dad joke.
Vaaranam Aayiram:
Suriya’s dad is also his best friend. The kind that cries along, like he does here. When Suriya is at his weakest – his mother musters up some courage to console him, pleading “Amma kitta vandhudu Suriya” but dad breaks down. He feels the pain.
Like all dads do. When our hearts break, theirs do too.
Abhiyum Naanum:
When Abhi cries, he goes crazy. He doesn’t even wait to find out if the scalding hot water fell on his Abhi’s hand’s or her mother’s. She is crying. I have to pacify her.
As Abhi grew older, he became her 3 AM friend, she was the first to wish him on his birthday and he was always there to watch over her. And then, she falls in love.
Trouble.
When his dear daughter slips on a rock, things come to a head. He is annoyed his son-in-law-to-be won’t take the fall seriously enough. “What do you know,” he asks him, “she is my daughter.”
That is the voice of every father out there.
Deiva Thirumagal:
And in this one, the roles are reversed. Nila is Krishna’s playmate, sometimes his mother, sometimes his teacher and most of all his brilliant little baby girl. In this scene, everyone is busy arguing for their case but when Nila sets her eyes on Krishna the world stops. They talk in their own language, this father and daughter. The whole world is jealous of their unconditional love. For them, the stars do their own dance while the moon watches over.
Now’s time for that tissue. Also, some ice cream. Then dad said, “I want to tell you a joke about dairy, but it was too cheesy.”
