Continuing with the transition of a generation from the preordained arranged marriage to love marriages to live-in, Mani Ratnam in OK Kanmani managed to show that live in was a natural part of one generation ( in their 20s) and another generation had to come to terms with it ( Prakash Raj playing someone in the late 50s+). Read my full review here - http://fullyfilmy.blogspot.sg/2015/04/ok-kanmani-powered-by-love.html
Since live-in relationship is extremely difficult if you stay in the same city as your parents , Indian cinema has usually shown that the couple are staying away from parents. Its difficult to relate to why live-in and its obviousness as in the western world, I can only attribute to extremely self-confident self-assured people with some level of modernity or aloofness from society. Even in OKK , Mani Ratnam plays it safe to show that Tara has problems with her mother as the super corporate woman seeking control over her life and Adi lives with his brother showing he is without parents. So its somewhat half justified.
Whether its a live-in relationship or a woman running away from her home to marry someone, there is a moment where she is extremely sure that this is the right decision. She becomes more confident of the relationship which by logic is something less secure and more unknown than what she has today. I call this moment the 'roots to wings' transition phenomenon. Hindi movies that have shown live-in as normal as dating, show it as though wings existed anyway or the woman has accepted as part of life or its so obvious( Parineeti's character in the poorly scripted Shudh Desi Romance where the man was so weak). Also live in is not the same as premarital sex in a Goa trip, its much more than that at a social level.
Analyzing the roots to wings transition, one has to look at this still from Bombay, the yoke can be hard or soft. Its when the woman says - ' le mei aayi ho tere liye' , leaving everything. In Alaipayuthey it happens in the medical camp ( which I thought was cinematic cheapness by Mani from a writing standpoint).
In OK Kanmani, its this gush of emotion from Tara. In fact this is the only scene in the movie thats the 'why' of a live-in - a sense of excitement mixed with sureness , else it either seems like timepass or rational risk mitigation . Its difficult to find that scene online, so I will just put the promo scene -where that gush from Tara is visible.
If not one can watch the Bombay song again !!
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