Vaaranam Aayiram

Vaaranam Aayiram (transl. A Thousand Elephants) is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and produced by V. Ravichandran of Aascar Films. The film stars Suriya in dual lead roles as father and son, with Sameera Reddy (in her Tamil debut), Simran and Divya Spandana in lead roles. The film features music composed by Harris Jayaraj, making Vaaranam Aayiram his last project with Menon before the formal break-up of their partnership, until they worked together again in Yennai Arindhaal (2015). Cinematography for the film has been handled by R. Rathnavelu and editing done by Anthony Gonsalvez.

The film illustrates Suriya, an Indian Army Major who learns about his father Krishnan's death when he is on a rescue mission. He then starts reminiscing about the bond he shared with Krishnan and the stories related to him. The storyline is inspired from Menon's life, when he heard the news about his father's death back in 2007, also serving as a tribute to him. Filmed across India and United States, Vaaranam Aayiram had been under production since November 2006 and was completed in August 2008. The film was theatrically released on 14 November 2008, after multiple postponements and opened to critical acclaim and praise for Suriya's performance. Further, the film also became a commercial success, eventually becoming the biggest hit in Suriya's career at that time and eventually acquired a cult status. It won a number of awards, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.