by Vani Viswanathan
I’ve always been puzzled about the reasons why couples in Mani Ratnam’s movies fall in love. The movies have many bizarre, love-at-first-sight moments that get the man and the woman hooked for no reason. Why is Shekhar in Bombay drawn to schoolgirl Shaila Banu, or Sakthivel in Nayagan to schoolgirl-in-brothel Neela? (and while we’re on that topic, why is Mani so keen on portraying schoolgirls who not only get married underage, but bear children very early?!) The most absurd ‘love story’ surely has to be that of Ashok (played by Karthik) and Anitha (Nirosha) in Agni Natchathiram! It’s almost as if Mani couldn’t let one of his protagonists go without a girlfriend.
Not just love stories, stories of marriage also begin in a rather awkward fashion sometimes in Mani’s movies. Despite clear “no”s from the women, Rishi in Roja and CK in Mouna Ragam insist on marrying them. Although he has scripted a plethora of independent, strong-minded female characters, Mani has his women take some time to break out of the patriarchal actions his male characters impose on them. Finally, Mani is in love with marital symbols, with the thaali on prominent display on the women most of the times.
But all this aside, I like Mani’s movies for the reason that he’s one of the few directors who dares to tread into the murky world of couple life and romance post marriage. There are many examples: Divya from Mouna Ragam – who asks her husband not to touch her because it makes her feel like worms are crawling on her skin – or Shakthi and Karthik in Alaipayuthey who try to make their marriage work but find it difficult, or Sashi in Aitha Ezhuthu who is hell bent on trying to make her husband understand the results of his misdemeanours.
Mani knows that “They lived happily ever after” is a myth. Or that “happily ever after” requires a very different set of ingredients compared with what made the two fall in love in the first place.
Here is a selection of my favourite moments from Mani Ratnam movies which show the murky, complicated way romance evolves post marriage:
Guru: Aishwarya Rai as Sujata hardly has much to say in the movie, but when she does, she’s an epitome of elegance, support and individuality, her actions staying with you long after the movie. Like when she goes to parents’ after her first fight with Guru, and mutters about in anger as she goes about her tasks, waiting for Guru to come and ask her to go back home with her. Or the calmness she displays when Guru falls off their favourite swing after a stroke, saying “Keep breathing, do it for me, okay? I’ll be back” – no screaming, no panic, just a sense of level-headedness on how she can help her husband. Her defiance of Guru by visiting Manik Dasgupta (Mithun Chakraborty) – Guru’s mentor – with her twin daughters, and the grace with which she watches her little girls singing Jaage hain der tak to their paralysed father, as a tear rolls down his cheek. I realised that my descriptions hardly involved scenes where Sujata and Guru interact with each other. Isn’t that a beautiful testimony to how romance exists in various ways and forms after marriage?
Alaipayuthey: This movie was a breezy portrayal of how, a few weeks into marriage, the small things add up. Karthik’s (Madhavan) admonishment of Shakthi (Shalini) for making him wait outside the house, and her retort “You were happy spending hours waiting for me at the beach before we got married!”, to which he says “Yes, but that was before we got married…” Shakthi turns around and asks “Oh, so it’s different now?” The way their promises to keep families out break down when her father falls grievously ill, and tension mounts as Karthik reminds her that her father slapped him. And the desperation with which Karthik searches for Shakthi when she goes missing – fights and sour mood all thrown aside. Watching the movie as a teenager with a HUGE crush on Madhavan was an insight into how marriages can be messy even if one were to marry someone they fell in love with!
Kannatthil Muthammital: Indira (played by Simran) is stubborn, outspoken and has a mind of her own. I loved it when her husband, Thiru (Madhavan) questions her as to why she’s crying, now that their missing daughter was home safe and sound, and she says “I want to cry, so I will.” Her wit and quick thinking when she tells her writer husband not to write his next short story based on the recent incident in their lives. Mani also excels with subtleties when he shows the couple hug at night, and their daughter steps into the room; they don’t break away, but continue holding on to each other. Few movies make it tasteful by showing a wife who isn’t squeamish when her husband shows her physical affection, or worse, a woman with children who demands sexual attention from her partner.
O Kadhal Kanmani: Ok, strictly speaking the couple wasn’t married in the beginning of the movie, and I hated that after their long conversations about their distrust in marriage, they end up getting going for it. Where was adventurous Mani, and why couldn’t he show that romance can exist without leading to marriage, and a couple can deal with separation and move on? Nevertheless I enjoyed watching the breezy romance and the bits of trouble that started to creep in when the couple moves inches closer to their dreams. Tara’s annoyance that Adi is able to stay calm though she made the pact that they would not get emotional about the impending separation, and her slow buckling in as she finds herself liking Adi’s suggestion about them getting married. “What about your idea that we should get married? Was it all in the heat of the moment?” she asks, relieved when he says he still stands by it. Mani’s Tara struggles between holding on to her ego, her dreams and her romance. They do get a sweet deal in the end (going by the animation during the credits) – both pursue their careers and have two children! – but I still wish Mani had been confident and showed marriage isn’t a necessary step for every couple. Mani who ends a movie with happily-ever-after isn’t the Mani I’m used to.
Mouna Ragam: How can one make any list of Mani Ratnam movies without this being on it? The movie starts off on a rather annoying note when CK (Mohan) tells his family he wants to marry Divya (Revathi) even after she expressly tells him she’s not interested and lists her ‘faults’ in the hope he’s convinced she won’t make a good wife. After circumstances force her to marry CK and move to Delhi, Divya finds herself struggling between being nice to her housemate – who is patient, caring and warm – and doing everything she needs to get out of a marriage she’s not interested in. CK, on his part, is understanding and patient, although the way he treats his wife like a child can come across as patronising at times. Divya is among the most natural and realistic female characters I’ve seen in cinema, be it her angry mutterings, her desire to be thankful to someone who puts up with her distaste for their marriage, or her reluctance to say that she likes him. I couldn’t understand, though, why Mani Ratnam had to have an educated woman who’s studied Econometrics, pull out her thaali in a Delhi hospital to explain they have to try to save her husband. Err… what happened to your English, my dear?
I wonder what Mani’s next, Kaatru Veliyidai, will bring. A bold, sassy take on relationships? Marriage in its truly messed up form? A couple that doesn’t believe in marriage and continues to stay that way? Maybe an ending that doesn’t mean all well, since it seems our audiences increasingly seem to accept such stories?
