Aadhalal Kaadhal Seiveer?

Somewhere towards end of the movie, as the female lead's mother is shouting abuses on the male lead's family and threatening legal actions for the male lead impregnating her daughter, the female lead drags  her mother out of the house, and starts moving with a firm face. "I don't need him." She declares, as she walks confidently, with an air of knowing exactly what to do next. The scenes that follow shows that her family heads to Trichy and she delivers a baby. The freshness and innocence of the baby lends some happiness to all those who are watching the movie. 

And shockingly the happiness is short lived. The father of the female lead takes the kid and hands over the kid to an orphanage. The screen beams "Two Years Later", and shows the female lead cheerfully getting engaged to another boy, and the male lead happily flirting with another girl. 

And then the final four odd minutes of the movie displays the plight of the kid, and ends with the child crying helplessly. Alone. Only the heartless wouldn't moved by that image.

Before I move on, I have to necessarily share two things. One a gist of an interaction I had with a very dear friend of mine. Another, a small experience of being humbled by the actions of my students some six months back.

One, Sometime back my friend was explaining some old tamil saying. "Those who appreciate a good music and poetry, and declare that 'Nothing can beat this', are those who haven't heard the sweet mumblings and babblings of a kid." Such people are "Mazhalai Sol Kelaadhavar". I could understand fully what he was explaining. I have a kid whose mouth is yet utter any meaningful sentences. He rambles endlessly and we do enjoy his smile, and ramblings. It is true that nothing can be sweeter than watching a small kid talk that way.

Two, early this year, some of my students had invited me to be part of some celebration with an orphanage. I didn't take them seriously at the beginning. My apathy towards such 'acts' ensured that I reached the location good two hours late. The students were in the midst of all celebrations. Organising small competitions, distributing sweets and taking photos. I was also made to participate in some of those group events, which I did reluctantly. All the while, I was putting on my fake smile as if I was genuinely happy, which I wasn't. Admittedly I was impressed by the seriousness of the students who were organising all these stuff. In the end, the students asked me to handover gifts to all those kids of the orphanage. I was handing over one by one. Some forty odd kids later, there was this kid of barely three odd years, who came to collect the gift. As I handed over the gift I looked at his face. And my son's face flashed and a simple question 'What if?'. And the rest of my day was gloomy.

As I walked out of the movie hall tightly holding my son with his head on my shoulder, I was recollecting all the above experiences. I was pretty much disturbed at realizing the possible background story behind so many orphans. I used to believe that most of the kids at orphanages are from poor background. They would have been left in such places due to parents who couldn't afford bringing up a kid, single unmarried parents with no social support from the immediate circle and so on. I nurtured the idea that such parents would be repenting their action and feeling guilty of their action, and hoping that somehow their sins would be atoned. 

The movie had shed light on the possibility of parents leaving the kids at orphanage to "move on" with their lives. While they move on and celebrate and are happy, the product of their lust without true love, unprotected sex, five minutes of happiness is made to suffer throughout its life. The orphan need not always be from a financially poor family. They can be from a financially sound, but morally bankrupt family; and practical and aspirational parents but emotionally callous ones; thoroughly educated but lacking in foresight and care. And it is possibility that makes you feel extremely sorry for the kid. 

As a commentary, the movie is hard hitting on the modern day love, and how selfish every single soul can be. Our support oscillates from one character to the other character, and in the end you literally feel like spitting on the faces of every single callous soul. It also reflects the eternal truth that however much the parents are friendly or however much they are strict, the kids need not necessarily be sensible and open with their parents. 

As every character's action in the movie show, age doesn't guarantee maturity, youth doesn't ensure change in the social fabric or outlook. Youth would be rebellious against their parents as long as it suits them, but ultimately get back to them, in the face of adversity. The basic acts of the male lead and female leads getting agitated and angry at any negative or critical reference to the other person's parents, isn't the sign of respect for parents, but escapist attitude. Escaping responsibility, attempting at making the other person feel guilty, and avoiding the other person altogether.

Incidentally it also sheds light on the fad of dating and outing, which is primarily driven by a desire to get cosy, and physically intimate with the opposite sex. At a very simple level, the movie can be said to convey the point that if you are not prepared for the pregnancy, you shouldn't be having unprotected sex. If you don't really love, you should stay away from sex. Another learning is the need for swift decision in matters relating to abortion. The longer you delay, complicated it gets, resulting in extremely sad end result.

As always, most of us, including me, would move on apathetically. The only good thing that I felt out of the movie, and good here isn't actually good, but relatively lesser evil, was the recollection of yet another event that had happened in a college back home at Trichy. This was shared by a relative of mine, and I have no way of confirming to what extent it is true. Incredible it may seem, but extremely disturbing story it was.

A young girl had somehow managed to hide her unwanted pregnancy till the very end. Her religious belief and the resultant extra clothing is believed to have actually helped her in hiding her ballooning belly. Without any medical support she managed to deliver the baby in her college restroom, ended its life right there. Ending a life which had no bad will against her. A life which is as innocent as it can ever get, unpolluted by the venomous inputs of the society and people already born in this planet. A life which is an extension of your own, and having scores of years ahead, just to escape responsibility and possible ridicule for a few years.

I haven't really bothered to check or verify the extent of truth in the above narration. But looking at the way people are behaving, and looking at the possibility as explored by the movie, I wouldn't bet against the above thing to be a fact. And funnily, almost all these unwanted pregnancies aren't exactly accidental, but due to careless sex with the person they are "truly" in love with.

But can somebody ever claim to be in "true love" if they cannot take care of their own progeny? How can they celebrate love, and calling it the most beautiful "feeling", if they can't really realize the happiness in the smile of the innocent kid and its babbles? What is point in love if there is no respect for the human life? 

"Aadhalaal Kaadhal Seiveer" is the story of a lust masquerading as love, the love without any respect for the human life, the love that many youth have been glorifying as pure. The title of the movie isn't a diktat, but a sarcastic note on the modern day love stories without any real love.