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Remember when Karthik walked up to Shakti at the railway station and confessed his love to Shakti? "Naa unna virumbala, un mela aasai padala, nee azhaga iruka nu nenaikala aana ithellam nadanthidumo nu bayama iruku. Yosichu sollu (I don’t like you, I don’t want you, I don’t think you are beautiful, but I am afraid that this will happen. Think and let me know.)," he says, in the iconic scene from Alai Payuthe (2000). With people constantly cringing over cute and cheesy love stories, it’s time we admit that moments like these are mushy and comforting.
Here we list out 7 Tamil romantic films for you to revisit on Amazon Prime Video that will leave you feeling like a puddle of emotions.
Mouna Ragam tells the tale of an arranged marriage that is shambled from the beginning due to the dissonance of feelings between the couple. Divya (Revathy), who is burdened by the remnants of her past relationship, enters the marriage only out of the guilt of causing her father’s heart attack by refusing the marriage proposal with Chandrakumar, aka CK (Mohan). While Divya enters the marriage reluctantly, CK wants to be an enthusiastic and caring husband. There’s hesitance, awkwardness and silence in the air. When CK says he wants to buy her a gift, she says the only gift she needs from him is a divorce. Ouch. In the song ‘Mandram Vandha Thendralukku’ that follows, besides the glances they share, we experience a deep sense of pain along with CK. While Mouna Ragam does end on a happy note, with CK and Divya uniting, Mani Ratnam's beautiful portrayal of the silence, struggle, and sparring the couple goes through post-marriage makes its classic status well-deserved.
Bombay is an interfaith love story. Shekhar (Arvind Swamy), hailing from an orthodox Hindu family, and Shaila (Manisha Koirala), from a working-class Muslim family, fall in love and face severe resistance from their respective families. They overcome challenges and build a little home for themselves and their twin boys, Kabir Narayan and Kamal Basheer. In this pleasant romance maimed by violence, Mani Ratnam makes a strong statement about tolerance and communal harmony. The scene where one of the twin boys questions the trans woman who protects them leaves us all teary-eyed. "Hindu na enna, Muslim na enna? (What is Hindu and Muslim?)," he asks, wondering why people of the two religions are fighting one another. She answers, "Athan therila raasa (That's what even fI don’t know, dear)". Mani Ratnam’s love story was tender, tragic, and deeply moving.
Another beautiful Mani Ratnam romance, Alai Payuthey, is about how Karthik (Madhavan) and Shakti (Shalini) meet, fall in love, get married, and discover that marriage isn't the paradise that they imagine it to be. Karthik’s ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’ intro gives us a cool, happy vibe, and Shakti’s expressive eyes and girl-next-door charm convince us that she is a free-spirited young woman. The movie sensibly portrays the evolving dynamics of their relationship. AR Rahman’s magic through each phase of their relationship—they meet during ‘Yaro Yarodi’ and sparks fly; Karthik falls in love through ‘Pachai Nirame’; Shakti's yearning is expressed through ‘Evano Oruvan Vasikiran’; the bonding they share through ‘Snegithane’; the beautifully conceptualized ‘Kadhal Sadugudu’ post-marriage in a half-built house; the frustrations of marriage in ‘September Madham' just wave us through a series of emotions.
Adhitya (Madhavan) and Ganga (Jyotika), who do not wish to marry, plot several schemes to foil their marriage. While Adhitya wants to party and explore relationships, Ganga wants to pursue higher studies. Though their plans don't work out, a family feud successfully hinders the marriage from happening. The city-savvy Adhitya meets Ganga later in Chennai, and they both end up falling for each other this time. Azhagam Perumal's movie explores the evolution of their relationship and how their love overcomes all obstacles. Along with cute banter, there is love and laughter.
Pannaiyarum Padminiyum is a movie I watched when I was too young. Seeing an elderly couple share so much love and intimacy through their friendly fights left me awestruck, just like Murugesan (Vijay Sethupathi), who witnesses the bond Pannaiyar (Jayaprakash) and Chellamma share in this lovely film. Chellamma’s (Thulasi) unwavering attitude, maturity, and how she deals with her innocent husband tell us how much she loves him in every scene. Pannaiyar divides the domestic chores with Chellamma, a love that is mature and modern in every sense.
OK Kanmani chronicles the lives of an ambitious, modern couple, Adhi (Dulquer Salmaan) and Tara (Nithya Menen). They are in a live-in relationship but are unwilling to get married. The way Tara documents their ‘Modhal Sandai’ (first fight) with a selfie and demands Adhi to frown makes his face feel all cheesy and cute. In this movie, the couple navigates love, career, and, most importantly, marriage. Mani Ratnam uses an older couple (Ganapathy and Bhavani, played by Prakash Raj and Leela Samson) as reference points for young love—couples who've weathered storms together and emerged stronger. OK Kanmani weaves magic and comforts us like a blanket as it deals with two love stories. While Adhi-Tara gave us major relationship goals, Ganapathy uncle and Bhavani aunty showed what long-term commitment and love look like in life.
When I had to curate a list of romantic movies to stream, I was certain Mani Ratnam was the master and Kaatru Veliyidai is one more testament. Kaatru Veliyidai is about VC (Karthi), an abrasive fighter pilot whose emotional abuse pushes his lover Leela (Aditi Rao Hydari), a sensitive doctor, away. Despite the film opening up to several discussions about patriarchy and VC’s narcissistic and chauvinistic behaviour with his "Aambala vera, pombala vera (Men and women are different)" dialogue, we fell hard for him every time, like Leela. Like his previous films, Mani Ratnam has the meet-cute beginnings, flirting, and love songs, but the film ends exploring a complicated and fluctuating relationship. There is love, lust, and longevity.
