Vishwanath & Sons – So Much More Than an Age-Gap Romance

 I watched Vishwanath and Sons on Netflix, and I was honestly mildly surprised by just how much I enjoyed it.

(Image Courtesy: Vishwanath & Sons promotional material)

I had seen quite a few reviews online criticizing the age difference between the hero and heroine, with comments about how we need to stop making movies that romanticize relationships like this. So I was a little hesitant to watch it. But since I am a huge fan of Suriya, I decided to give it a chance — and I am so glad I did.

SPOILER WARNING: There may be spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution!

Yes, the age difference is definitely a part of the story, and I understand why it has generated discussion. But we have also seen age-gap relationships explored in movies like Lamhe, Cheeni Kum, Premam, and others. For me, though, this movie had so much more to offer than just that one aspect of the story.

What stood out the most were the kickass dialogues, excellent characterization, perfect casting, strong performances, and some surprisingly thoughtful life lessons.

Let me start with the dialogues because they absolutely killed it in that department. There were so many lines that made me stop and think. A few that stayed with me — without giving away too much of the story — were:

1. If something fails, buying a new one should not be the first option; it should be the last. Money teaches you how to buy things, but difficulties teach you how to live life.
2. People don't drift apart because of fights. They drift apart because they don't know how to talk to each other after one.
3. You should not stop trying until you win. But once you have won, you don't have to keep talking about it.
4. It is okay to sacrifice anything for your dream, but it is not okay to sacrifice your dream for someone else.

There were many more moments like these throughout the movie. The writing manages to be entertaining while occasionally making you stop and reflect on relationships, family, ambition, forgiveness, and life itself.

Another huge strength of the movie is its characters. There are so many different personalities and perspectives woven into the story: the man who wants to have a child through surrogacy but doesn't want marriage; the young woman who agrees to become a surrogate but unexpectedly develops feelings for the baby's father despite her carefree, almost detached attitude toward life; the mother who has endured so much and yet still has an enormous capacity for love; the second wife and sister who carry their own feelings of being wronged and left out; the lawyer friend who can be hilarious one minute and completely serious the next; and the parents whose prejudices ultimately cost them their daughter.

WOW. Such a fascinating mix of characters.

Almost every character brings something different to the story, and many of them make you look at situations from a perspective you might not have considered before.

The casting deserves a special mention too. The casting director really seems to have found the right person for every role, and the actors give their characters everything they have. Radhika, in particular, absolutely shines as the mother. She brings so much warmth, pain, strength, and affection to the role. Such a beautiful performance.

I also thought the ending was handled very well.

Instead of simply wrapping everything up into a neat romantic ending, she is given the opportunity to study, grow, discover who she is, and then decide what she truly wants from the relationship. I loved that.

There is also a conversation where he points out that the age difference may not seem like a big deal right now, but twenty years later she could be in the prime of her life, wanting to travel and experience things while he may no longer be physically able to keep up with her. I thought that was a very mature and realistic way of addressing the age gap rather than pretending it doesn't exist.

Could certain things have been left out? Sure.

For example, the scenes showing the hero hooking up with women through an app weren't exactly necessary for me. But did they take away from the movie? Not really. In a way, they simply showed him as a normal adult with normal emotional and physical needs rather than trying to portray him as some unrealistically perfect hero.

Overall, I really loved this movie.

The dialogues, direction, acting, characterization, and casting were all excellent. There is humor, family drama, romance, emotional baggage, difficult relationships, and plenty of little observations about life scattered throughout the story.

I would highly recommend it and give it a 9/10.

Why not a full 10/10? The editing could have been a little crisper, and I could definitely have done without a few of the fight sequences. But then again, I suppose we need the fights and songs to complete the full Indian-movie experience! 😄 And honestly, even the songs were pretty good.

If the age-gap discussion has made you hesitant to watch the movie, I would still say give it a chance and judge the story as a whole. There is much more going on here than just the romance.

Enjoy watching — and if you have already seen it, let me know what you thought in the comments!