Virsa is the story of Nawaz Ali and Ranvir Singh Grewal and their families. Nawaz Ali hails from Lahore in Pakistan and Ranvir Singh Grewal belongs to a village, Kartarpur, in Punjab, India. About 20 years ago, both of them migrated to Sydney, Australia, in search of work, where they met and became the best of friends. Gradually, their hard work paid off. Ranvir opened an Indian restaurant, which became a runaway success. Nawaz Ali opened a shop opposite Ranvir's restaurant. It did well and he could manage to lead a comfortable life but he was not as successful as Ranvir.
As the film opens, Ranvir and Nawaz are well settled in Australia with their respective families. Nawaz has one son, Amaan Ali and Ranvir has a son, Yuvraj, and a daughter, Meet. Amaan and Yuvraj are roughly the same age and best buddies since childhood, despite the rift between their fathers. However, the difference in the thinking of the two fathers is reflected in the personalities of their sons.
Amaan is a sensible, level-headed young man. He is strongly grounded in and comfortable with his Asian identity. However, he is contemporary in his outlook. He does a fine balance of sticking to his values even as he adapts to the society around him and its mores and traditions.
Yuvraj is the exact opposite of Amaan. Due to Ranvir's indulgent attitude, Yuvraj grows up to be a rich, spoilt brat. He also feels closer to the white folks than to the Asians around him. He has no idea of Indian culture or values, no ethics and no morals. He loves women, booze, drugs...
As Virsa answers these and other questions, it makes a strong statement about remaining true to one's values, culture and upbringing even as we constantly adapt and adjust to the society around us. It explores ways of addressing the identity conflicts of immigrant Asians in Western societies so that the succeeding generations can benefit from the best facets of both the cultures.
