Of a silent symphony and tamil movies.

Saturday night last weekend was a very nice girls-night-in. Ma, Radhika and I had some dosas and chilled and watched a movie.

A Tamil movie. 

Despite living in a Tamil household and belonging to a Tamil lineage, I haven't seen many Tamil movies - the number is possibly under a dozen. And only one of them was seen at the movie theater. Obviously, it was a SuperStar Rajni movie - Sivaji The Boss. 

Otherwise, Tamil movies were something we saw on VCDs or DVDs bought from the local south-Indian groceries store ( mostly from Sector 47 wala Singla Store, Chandigarh) - and many a time, weirdly on Singla Uncle's suggestion. Otherwise, we'd get news from family back in Madras on whether some movie seemed like it was a good watch. I can't recognize most of the actors. Once while standing near the Besant Nagar Beach, I saw this uncle's face painted on the wall. I thought it was super random graffiti  And I dared to laugh and point at 'uncle' :| Turned out he was the actor Vikram and he lived some 2 lanes away from where I was standing. I even made the unforgivable mistake of asking (although in a whisper) who SuperStar Rajni was. Was I glad no one heard me!

Alaipayuthey is a favorite - I like it so much better than the Hindi version, Saathiya. Shalini and Madhavan - love love love. And the songs! Kandukondein-Kandukondein was beautiful and enjoyable too. Kannathil Muthammitaal is something I've wanted to watch a second time, but I think we lost the CD. Vaaranam Aayiram's good. Rhythm. Mozhi is amazing! And I can't remember the name of this movie from teh 60s - maybe it's Kaadalika Neramillai - tons of fun. Abhiyum Naanum and Santosh Subramaniam are cute. 

OH WAIT. Michael Madana Kama Rajan IS KLLLER. Super super funny. Kamal Haasan playing FOUR roles. And Crazy Mohan penned the dialogues. I just wanted to mention him because of the name. :P 

Radhika Saxena is lover of anything south-Indian. More of anything Tamil, actually - perhaps it is due to selective exposure? She can count from one to ten in Tamil. She loves vethakuzhambu. She is crazy about Dhanush's jaw. She wanted to watch 3 in the theater. But unfortunately, that didn't materialize. Kadal too, met the same fate. But since it was her birthday month, my Ma decided to gift her the VCD of Kadal she procured from a stall outside the Sarojini Nagar Pilayar Koil. 

However, the Saturday night when we were supposed to watch Kadal, Ma didn't seem to be in the mood and wanted to show us Mouna Ragam (Silent Symphony) - one of her favorite movies. And since I had heard about it all these years, I felt like watching it. It's a Mani Ratnam movie from 1986, starring Revathi, Illaiyaraja's music - I was in. I promised Radhika a showing of Kadal after we were done watching Mouna Ragam. She was getting two Tamil movies in one night, she was not going to complain.

Since the 80s didn't exactly have the best movies, at least as far as Hindi cinema was concerned, I wasn't sure about what to expect. And I hoped and prayed that the 80s were untouched by 'louu'. No, I don't mean the concept of love or romance. But just the word and the way it was pronounced and the ease with which people seemed to decide they were in louu. Many Tamil movies in the 2000s or 2010s seem to have the male protagonist declare his love for his lady as 'naan onna louu pannarein' [I louu to you] - not 'naan onna kaadalikarein' [i love you in Tamil]. Louu. Its irritating actually. Especially when this guy decides that he is in love with the girl who actually throws a match stick at him and he wakes up (while sleeping in the Temple because he was kicked out of home) literally, on fire. He's seen her from a distance of say 20 feet. And the next couple of times, the distance doesn't decrease much - in fact, add to it her super buff and scary protective brother. But he's in louu. 

Mouna Ragam was beautiful. It was classy. And I wouldn't mind being romanced that way. If not anything, I WANT THAT HOUSE. Furnished the way it is in the movie, if possible. And Delhi from back then - the roads looked less intense and less crowded. 

Here's the basic story.

They introduce Revathi as your typical female protagonist who is energetic (bubbly, even!), mischievous, risk-taking, dancing in the rain, leading her friends wali college student. Of course, she is pretty! I thought that it'd be cliche from there on out. While it was a little bit in that direction, the rest of the movie was actually quite refreshing. Her father informs her that she needs to be home on time from college because a guy's family was going to come see her and perhaps, if all went well, they'd fix her marriage. She's very opposed to the idea. It rains post college, and she decides to stay out and dance in the rain with her friends etc. (this is the song where they show how energetic and bubbly our girl is) and thereby converting her father's plan into a fail. Of course, when she does get home, the future in-laws and the husband-to-be are all sitting. The husband-to-be is Mohan. He had me at his first dialogue. Which comes after Revathi tells him the kind of stubborn, immature kid (sort of) she is and that she does not want to get married and that any good qualities her parents may have mentioned to him are false. He simply smiles and says, 'I like you' (in Tamil) and walks out of that room. 

While we evidently have a yes from the guy's side, Revathi tells her parents that she doesn't want to get married. Her father even has a heart-attack. She gives in and says yes. Post the wedding, they go to Delhi. Where we see the second of the three things/persons I could fall for in the movie. THE HOUSE.

It is incredible. Its spacious. Its simple. Its classy. I don't even know how to describe it! Its got a very zen quality to it, if I may say so. Its so amazing that we wondered whether it could have been anywhere in Delhi. I'd have pretty much hugged the life out of Mohan if it were me. But Revathi, who if you remember wasn't particularly thrilled about this wedding, keeps snubbing her husband. When he says that the house is made of cement and bricks and that it was now up to you(me) to make this a home, I may have jumped up and down and said that even though it was perfect, I'd love to. Revathi, on the other hand, says that bricks and cement would do.

Mohan's that fuddu nice guy who'd get his wife divorce papers as a wedding gift on the 6th day of their marriage because she said that it is what she truly wanted. He's the guy who accepts her past by telling her that all he cares about is her present and future. But of course, the past is interesting. We find out that Revathi had lost her heart. To a thief, actually. Please don't imagine a heart-transplant like scenario. Well, I'm assuming you won't - weirdly, this scenario came to my mind as I type the last few sentences. 

In her college days, she had witnessed this gang beat up some MP's son and steal his money. She could recognize the main guy and reported him to the police. However, she finds out that he was beating the guy up because the M.P's son had run his car over a poor girl and to arrange money for the girl's treatment. After knowing this she feels guilty of framing him and bails him out of the police station. He's one helluva character, too. He's the guy you'd want to date as a 20 year old. The part is played by Kartik. He's this refreshing funny guy, with revolutionary ideas and is even part of a group that organizes rallies. He pursues her quite charmingly. He likes her from the beginning - but she doesn't respond to his moves (not quite like those of Jagger's). But the relentless pursuit on his part kind of leads them to decide to get married at the court. BUT. The police decides to be efficient on the very day the two of them were supposed to meet and get married. He is falsely charged for participating in the previous day's rally. He didn't participate because she had asked him not to and was actually proposing spending the rest of their lives together in front of her house when the rally was happening. As he is arrested and taken away by the police, he attempts to escape and runs to the marriage register's office where she is waiting for him. And in the chase that follows ... Kartik gets shot accidentally in front of the steps of the office, in front of her eyes. That felt cruel. Very very cruel.

Revathi continues to snub Mohan. They have separate beds, btw. Their lawyer tells them that it would be very hard for them to get a divorce before a year and that they would have to stay together for that period. Mohan is very pragmatic about the scenario and even goes to the extent of not having the coffee she makes because he didn't want to get into the habit or the comfort of having her around. But you see Revathi trying to be all wifey and wanting to cook meals. And one day, even he's ready to take an off from the office and take her around - they visit the Taj Mahal. They seem to have had a great day. But. Then they reach home, when he gets out of the car to go open the gate, he's attacked by some people who work at his factory/office. He had suspended their union leader the previous day. Its quite brutal, actually. You can see that Revathi feels devastated to see him that way. But thankfully, he recovers a little and is discharged from the hospital. 

However, Mohan starts acting like a meanie. While Revathi tries to go around helping him. In fact, he shows his sarcastic side and maaros the same lines that she did pre-accident. [Points for the sarcasm from my side, btw]. Even when her parents visit, he behaves like a class A jerk. He tells her that it is only because in a year's time, her family shouldn't blame her as the reason for their divorce. Whatte guy. 

One evening, in an attempt at showing her louu for him, she wears the set of anklets he had got as an alternative to the divorce papers. But he only gets irritated with her when she turns of his music system. They fight. He actually ends up booking a ticket for her to Madras for the next day. She walks out of the house, at that late hour. Delhi being Delhi, of course there're rowdy boys leching and more unfortunate events could have followed had Mohan not come looking for her in perfect Movie Timing. When he puts her to sleep, he notices the anklets. And the next morning is the most pleasant morning they both would've shared till then. But then, her ticket to Madras comes.

And then takes place a classic lack of communication. She wants him to ask her to stay. He wants her to stay. But of course, why would any one dare speak out loud their feelings, right? Power-play, ego, etc. She even tells him that she'll manage to reach the station on her own and that he need not bother. When she reaches the station, he's actually waiting there for her. She has this hope that he's going to ask her to stay. Instead, he gives her the finalised divorce papers which she had wanted. She tears it up and makes a tiny speech and heads for her train, crying. 

Then follows the classic Indian railway station scene. Except it's a little reversed DDLJ-esque. The guy is running after the train in which the girl is in. There is no fight scene that preceded it. They're already married. Just didn't realise they were superbly in love. Anyway, he gets on to the train. They hug.

And then. They pull chain to stop train. And get off, and he picks her up in his arms. :) 

I wish I was as pretty as Revathi. I wouldn't mind meeting a Kartik at this stage of my life. I certainly wouldn't mind marrying a Mohan, someday. And live in that house. Maybe the railway station scene would be the closest I could get to DDLJ. They actually pulled chain to stop train :)