He alludes to his abusive father messing him up to a point that he will never be a good father. The breaking point is when Aditi is pregnant and Karthi says that he can’t be a father. Mani Ratnam truly glamorizes the allure of toxic relationships through amazing music and a captivating flirtation between its stars. I resented myself for melting during Karthi’s abusive boyfriend apologetic stint in the song “Nallai Allai.” Beautifully picturized and breathtaking despite questionable circumstances. You can’t help but weep and/or relate every time she keeps going back, even though she knows this isn’t right. But Aditi realizes all too soon that it’s not cute when a boyfriend threatens to hit you if you defy him, or tells you to “shut up” in front of his friends and family, OR “forgets” to meet you at the altar after proposing. Very quickly a fragile-looking heroine is drawn to a wolf-like hero. Aditi is seriously stunning, you just can’t stop looking at her. But this movie explores what happens when that kind of personality falls in love, and how messed up people tend to have messed up relationships. In movies we always assume that the playboy, chauvinist, jerk reforms when he meets the right lady. I was so used to seeing this formula over and over, that I didn’t read too closely into Karthi’s a-hole persona from the beginning. Now what seemed like a typical sugary romance between an airforce pilot and a doctor during a time of war, went south very quickly. Karthi is captured as a prisoner of war and starts flashing back to his budding romance with Aditi, who he longs for from behind bars. The movie opens in a very typical fashion. That’s not to say this movie was terrible… just messed up. I write this post to interpret what I think was happening in his most screwed up love story to date, with the least likable male protagonist EVER. I’m really not sure what Mani Ratnam was trying to do here. ![]() Instead what I got was a punch in the gut and an incredibly disturbing sensation I just can’t shake. I was like a giggly teenager waiting for the next Twilight movie, especially after his last hit, “OK Kanmani” blew me away with its optimism and modernity. For over 20 years, his films have touched me and set a ridiculously high bar for the intensity with which one should feel love. ![]() A passion for Mani Ratnam films flows through my veins.
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