Filmmaker Mani Ratnam has made another hit for South Indian cinema. Clickwalla reviews his latest offering – Alaipayuthey (Romantic Reckonings).

EVER heard of a messy, congested suburban railway station playing cupid? You’ll find one here, as filmmaker Mani Ratnam proves he can make even this drab backdrop look romantic.

There is suspense, romance and there is drama aplenty. Madhavan (the star of many noisy forgettable Hindi soaps) plays the male lead, Karthik. When offered the role by Ratnam he confessed he felt the same way a student would if he was asked to work with Bill Gates, and then laughed at his own admission.

But it is this sense of look-at-me-I-am-having-so-much-fun which captures the mood of the movie so well in the first half. Boy falls in love with girl and gets her to marry him without the slightest idea of what happens then.

Shalini plays Shakthi, studying to be a doctor who defies her family to marry a guy she loves in a quiet and committed way. Both families instantly loathe each other and soon enough so do the newly-married couple – the pressure of careers, cooking and compromising makes mountains out of minor mistakes. You watch them argue with dismay but you empathise easily, for this could be you.

Madhavan is so good in his role that he earned the sobriquet of ‘Hrithik of the South’ – but that is probably an indication of his popularity only. He doesn’t possess that pin-up appeal (obviously no one has told him that movie stars aren’t allowed to have paunches). But having said that, he is still miles ahead of his contemporaries.

Shalini makes a good impression but not a good enough one. And she really needs to tie up her hair if she wants the audience to remember what she looks like.

However, there is another marriage here which succeeds marvellously – A R Rehman’s music and the manner in which it has been picturised. What a relief that the master of modern cinema is over his Dil Se dementia. Alaipayuthey is all about an ordinary love amongst ordinary people in ordinary settings – but that’s all there is ordinary about it.

To find out how Mani turned something mundane into something magical, don’t miss this one.

Cast: Madhavan, Shalini
Story, Screenplay, Direction: Mani Ratnam
Music: A.R. Rehman

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