Vinnai Thaandi Varuvayaa - The movie released worldwide on February 26, 2010 (One day after Gautham Menon's 37th Birthday).

What is VTV to me?

My whole life changed after watching the film. Yes, I decided to become a filmmaker after watching it (like any other adolescent youngster during its release). I went to a greater extent than others to reprise STR's character Karthik's life in the movie - I wanted to get a Mechanical Engineering seat in SRM since he too studied the same course in SRM. Post VTV, my ideology towards leading a life changed, and till now I lead it through that changed ideology.

Why am I boasting so much about it, you ask?

VTV is a kind of dream that any youngster would want to achieve, at least down south of Tamilnadu. Many people who I knew expected their life to be like that of Karthik's. They wanted a girlfriend in life who looked as beautiful as Jessie (simple in sarees without any makeup). So many boys wanted to buy a blue colour Apache RTR 160. Many started to write scripts. Several started to watch Gautham's films first-day first-show after the film. Yes, A new affinity towards the filmmaker was born after VTV to all of his fans today.

Why VTV all of a sudden, are you feeling romantic, you might ask.

Yes, I am. Who wouldn't, after watching Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya. I caught the Valentine's Day Special Show of the film at GK Cinemas last night. Two unusual things happened:

1. My going late to a show.

2. Lots of bikes parked in the parking area (due to which I concluded that the show was sold out).

I started watching the film from when the song Hosanna came on. I missed the first fifteen minutes, and once I started watching it, my thoughts went back to my school days. How we celebrated the film, and how crazy we used to be. I remember almost every boy trying out something in the film's style to his girl during my schooling.

So, what was new? It was still the same film, right?

Yes, it was the same film. But I experienced a brand new feeling this time. The best thing about the movie is that it is fresh no matter how many years later you watch it. Gautham Menon has treated the screenplay and visualized the movie in a way that it never gets old. Needless to say, the chemistry between STR and Trisha is a major factor that keeps the movie fresh. Another important factor which elevates the freshness everytime is AR Rahman's music.

There's hardly a hater for the album now; back then, there were fans simply for Hosanna. My friends teased me when I was also listening to Aaromale and Kannukul Kannai. Later on, when the movie released, every single song was celebrated and topped the charts. I remember during 2011 when my friend and I used to download the background score of VTV and listen to it according to the mood. For example, we listened to Jessie's Been Driving Me Crazy when we used to drive fast.

I have watched the film so many times that I forgot when the interval would be while watching the film last night. I can't find a better line to explain the freshness GVM has offered us in the film.

Another good example for the freshness is when Jessie tries to convince her dad and accept Karthik. The scene would be woven with intercuts to KS Ravikumar, who while making his film, is exasperated about stereotypes. The dialogues in the scene were new to me, and so was the newfangled treatment of a rom-com (I am a 90's kid - I only take examples from films after 1994).

Coming to the end, would you really want an end to a film like VTV?

Though I knew the ending, the movie never failed to make me await the climax. The movie made me so nostalgic that I couldn't hold my thoughts to the present consistently. They went to and fro my school life and now. The movie made me write a letter to my better half - to make love in such a grand way that Karthik and Jessie themselves would feel jealous, and insecure about theirs.

To me, VTV is love and lust, a lesson, a lecture, learning, laughter and a lot more.

Thank you, Gautham Vasudev Menon, for giving me the most favourite movie in my life.

If any of you wanted to know since when I was a fan of GVM, I say, "En rendavathu column varuthu, athula solren - A GVM special edition on his birthday".