O Kadhal Kanmani

How beautiful will it be to see the world through Mani Ratnam and PC Sreeram’s eyes. A world where even melodrama puts a smile on one’s face. A world filled with love irrespective of age. A world where relationships are not filmy. A world filled with A R Rahman’s music and Vairamuthu’s lyrics. A world where normalcy is beautiful. This parallel universe is what I experienced in O Kadhal Kanmani.

In this world, I saw Tara through the passing doors and windows of the train and fell for her, just the way Adi fell for her, just the way Karthik and many other guys including me fell for Shakthi (planning to go the train station everyday to see if this works in real life). Guy asking a girl her number the first time they meet and asking her out aren’t creepy in any way. A world where everything is romanticized and still doesn’t disgust the people who aren’t really romantic.

In this world, people don’t just talk. They talk while doing stuff. Just like real life. They are either dressing up. Or cooking. Or cutting vegetables. Or singing. Or packing. Or talking to other people. These are the things that make a movie real. People doing people stuff. People answering the way people are supposed to answer and not like reading a pre-written and edited script. When Tara asks “Mattikitta?”, in the usual mani ratnam’s herione’s accent, when adi says he hasn’t got any tickets to travel in the train, Adi says “Matikkitta, mattikitten“. Adi calls Tara all kinds of sweet names ending with “Aasa kothamalliye” and Tara asks “Kothamalliya?“, confused. It might seem like I’m romanticizing all trivial things, but these little moments are those which make the movie complete.

When people fight, they fight with and about each other, without generalising each and every statement they make. People don’t fall in love the moment they lay eyes upon each other. But when they do, it is pure and classy. People don’t stalk. They don’t behave like a spoiled brat. They are sensible. They respect people. Guy who takes care of his Alzheimer’s affected wife, doesn’t cry about it every other day. People who meet her don’t drop down to immediate sympathy and melodrama that very instant. Everything is so natural and light-hearted.

A world where lighting is just perfect for every scene and every frame is a painting. Mumbai seen through PC Sreeram and Mani Ratnam’s eyes once again, what more does one want?

When Tara first surrenders to Adi, a soundtrack seamlessly blends in in the background, and Sashaa Tirupati melts our hearts by singing Naane Varugiren. When she first comes to acceptance about their upcoming separation, we hear Pirivondru nerumendru theriyum kanna, en piriyathai athanale kuraikka matten. We notice how smoothly the music switches from Theera Ulaa to Mental Manadhil when Tara agrees to marry Adi. I haven’t seen this perfect blending of music and lyrics and the scene in any movie recently.

In this world, kids behave like kids. just like the way they did in all other Mani Ratnam movies. The kid addresses her mom by her name, just to repeat whatever her dad said. The kid reacts how a kid is supposed to react when she sees people kissing each other. The kid makes me yearn for the next Mani Ratnam movie to be about kids.

The characters are not judgemental. The movie itself isn’t judgemental. At no point did the movie take any side in the live-in relationship debate. People aren’t criticized for supporting or not supporting it. The character development is so gradual and justified. Here, the people who oppose for the marriage are the people are supposed to marry each other. And never could we guess that people are actually acting in the screen.

This might be the Mani Ratnam fanboy in me writing this, or the unbiased cinema viewer’s opinion about the movie, I’m still yet to decide which side to take but I watched the whole movie with a wide smile pinned to my face for each and every scene. How can one not like a movie that makes you smile throughout?

I wish my life was directed by Mani Ratnam.