Kannathil Muthamittal

Plot synopsis:
The film begins in a small village in Sri Lanka called Mankulam, where M. D. Shyama (Nandita Das) is married to Dileepan (J. D. Chakravarthy), who along with few other Sri Lankan Tamils in the village, is part of the Tamil Tigers rebel association. While having a quiet moment, the couple hears sounds of Sri Lankan army troops approaching. He asks Shyama to leave while he remains in the forest. Shyama realizes that she is pregnant and waits in vain for Dileepan’s return. Her villagers begin fleeing to India to seek refugee due to the war. Shyama is initially stubborn to leave her husband behind, but her relatives convince her to seek refuge for her unborn child's sake. The villagers board a boat to the shores of Rameswaram. On the journey one of the rebels says that he has seen her husband, Dileepan, with bullet wounds in the forest. Shyama wants the boat to turn around but it is too late. In Rameswaram, while a local collector takes down the names of the refugees, Shyama gives birth to a baby girl. However, the urge to find her possibly wounded husband and be with her people back home overwhelms Shyama and she leaves behind the newborn girl, hoping that the girl will lead a better life.
Nine years later in Chennai, a young girl, Amudha (P. S. Keerthana) narrates about her family life. She introduces her father, writer Thiruchelvan (R. Madhavan), who uses the pen name 'Indira' for his books. Indira (Simran Bagga) is Amudha's mother, while she has a younger brother named Vinay and another younger brother called Akhil. Amudha's ninth birthday approaches and both of her parents take her to the temple. Indira later reminds Thiruchelvan of their promise to reveal 'the truth' to Amudha on her ninth birthday. After their prayers, Thiruchelvan brings Amudha to Marina beach and reveals the truth that she was adopted from a refugee camp in Rameswaram and is not their biological daughter. Amudha is heavily disturbed after hearing the news and begins distancing herself from the family. Indira's father criticizes them for revealing the truth to her, but Thiruchelvan and Indira are certain they have taken the right decision. Amudha asks her foster-parents about her adoption.
The film then flashes to nine years ago in Rameswaram, where Thiruchelvan, then a budding writer, constantly travels to the refugee camp and writes stories inspired by the people there. At one such instance, Thiruchelvan sees a newborn baby girl, and writes a short story about the girl. Indira is his neighbour, and has always expressed an interest in him. Thiruchelvan, after a while, finds the urge to adopt the girl, but realizes that he will not be allowed to do so until he is married. He then proposes to Indira in order to be able to adopt the baby. Indira suggests the name 'Amudha' after seeing the baby once, and then adopt the baby after they marry each other. Vinay was born few years after their marriage, followed by Akhil, and thus, the family happened.
Even after hearing this, Amudha is dissatisfied. She requests to meet her mother despite Indira's insistence that they can't possibly find her even if they wanted to. Thiruchelvan gives in and promises to take Amudha to Sri Lanka to find her mother. Leaving the two boys under the care of Indira's father, the trio travel to Sri Lanka and are greeted by Dr. Herold Vikramasinghe (Prakash Raj), who also helps them to find Amudha's mother. Amudha and Indira's relationship strains as Amudha becomes increasingly rude at her mother while urging to find her real mother. While taking a walk in the jungle, Thiruchelvan and Vikramasinghe are captured by a group of LTTE rebels. Thiruchelvan immediately recites Tamil poetry and is identified as Indira by the group's leader (Pasupathy). Thiruchelvan explains his motives of coming to the country, mentioning the only evidence that he has regarding Amudha's mother is that her name is Shyama. The group leader arranges a meet and says he will bring Shyama to the spot. It is later revealed that Shyama is the group leader's sister who is also a part of the LTTE rebels living in seclusion.
The next day, Vikramasinghe, Amudha, Indira, and Thiruchelvan wait at the spot, but a sudden series of bombings break out at the place as the Sri Lankan army tries to infiltrate the hideout of the rebels. Indira gets shot in her arm in the process. The family finally leaves the place, and Amudha, apologizes to Indira and asks all of them to return to India. The next day, the family leaves for the airport but unexpectedly, Indira requests that they drive through the meeting spot one more time. As they wait, Shyama arrives. Amudha asks Shyama a series of questions, which Shyama is unable to answer, but she finally says that her life would be dedicated to fighting for her people in her country and that Amudha should live happily with her adopted parents and leaves.
The film ends with Thiruchelvan, Amudha, and Indira hugging each other as Shyama leaves, and a teary-eyed Amudha kisses her parents, re-affirming her love for them.

Tags: violence, flashback

Review:
I have seen this movie and it has clearly revealed to me the maturity Tamil cinema has in its screenplay and narrative which bollywood better catch up with.By the way to all we westerners, Tamil Cinema is more qualitative and very different from Bollywood which is all about good looks glamour and promotion.Coming to the point what was India thinking when they sent a movie like 'Devdas' to the Oscars?
The film tells the story of Amudha, a precocious nine-year old whose parents reveal to her that she was adopted, thus beginning an odyssey that takes them all from India to war-torn Sri Lanka.
The Director of Kannathil Muthamittal directed the first Indian film I had seen "Dil Se" which led me down the path of buying well over 122 Hindi DVDs in thecourse of four months.
The acting was superb, the photography was beautiful, I think you could stop the movie at any given time and would notice that any give frame would be worthy of painting.
Kannathil Muthamittal was simply one of the most touching and sincere movies ive seen in a long time.
mani ratnam generally has a tendency to create unreal and pompous overblown characters in this movie, every person seems real and their interactions are touching and sincere.
this is the reason why this ranks as one of his best movies.the movie is emotionally draining and tugs at the heart of the viewer, keerthana as the 9 year old amudha and simran as her adopted mother are simply brilliant.
they again seem forced and stand out, not gelling with the rest of the script.having said these, this still is one of the most poignant and beautiful movies to come out of india in a long long time.
It seems that the rebels of the Tamil minority have been in an ongoing conflict with the military regime that runs the country for many years, causing many deaths and widespread suffering on the island.Mani Ratman's latest film, A PECK ON THE CHEEK, tells the story of a young girl named Amudha, who is separated from her Sri Lankan parents by the war and raised by a young Indian couple.
Although her adopted parents love her as much as could be, and have raised her without prejudice along with their biological children, Amudha cannot help but want to learn more about her biological family.Mani Ratman is probably best known for his 1998 film DIL SE, which hides a story about terrorism and politics inside a love story (or is it the other way around?).
The central theme that binds the movie is of love between all the various members of a family, and especially that between a child and her adopted parents.
It's an emotionally complex film, with characters that are somewhat idealised but still behave in a very human way.The film revolves around 9 year old Amudha, played with charm and vivaciousness by young actress P.S. Keerthana in her first and only acting role.
The film is a bold and artistic effort to explore issues that are not frequently covered on the silver screen.Mani Ratman's direction is superb, very confident and mature - the most sophisticated work I've seen from this director yet.
A.R. Rahman provides the film's soundtrack, which is not as good as his classic DIL SE or BOMBAY music (based on first impressions at least) but still shows his great musical talent.I'm not aware of a DVD release for the film yet - I saw it in Tamil with English subtitles thanks to the San Francisco International Film Festival, of which the film was undoubtedly the highlight.
The impact on children and families caught in the conflict is sensitively dramatized by acclaimed Tamil director Mani Ratnam in his 2002 film A Peck on the Cheek, winner of several awards at the National Film Awards in India.
While the civil war is merely a backdrop for the story of a young girl's voyage of discovery, the human cost of war is made quite clear and Ratnam gives the fighting a universal context, pointing the finger at global arms traffickers as the source of wrongdoing.Beautifully photographed in Southern India by cinematographer Ravi K Chandran in a setting mirroring the terrain of Sri Lanka, the film tells a moving story about an adopted 9-year old girl who sets out to find her real mother in the middle of the fighting in Sri Lanka.
Played with deep feeling and expressiveness by P.S. Keerthana in a memorable performance, Amudha is brought up by a loving middle class family with two younger brothers after her natural parents Shyama (Nandita Das) and Dileepan (J.D. Chakravarthi) were forced to flee when the fighting broke out, leaving her in a Red Cross camp.
In a loving flashback, we see Amudha's adoptive parents, father Thiru (Madhavan) a prominent Tamil writer, and mother Indra (Simran) a TV personality, marry to facilitate their adoption of the darker-skinned little girl.Young Amudha has no idea that she is adopted until it is sprung upon her abruptly on her ninth birthday, according to the parents' prior agreement.
Amudha runs away several times until her parents agree to go to Sri Lanka to help her find her true mother, now a fighter for the Tamil separatists.
The family's immersion in the reality of the civil war leads to some traumatic moments and difficult decisions, handled mostly with skill by Ratnam, though a sequence where the family was caught in a crossfire felt amateurish.A Peck on the Cheek is of course a Bollywood-style film and that means tons of music and melodrama.
Mani Ratnam's 'Kannathil Muthamittal' is another of the movie from his 'political terror' series (along with films like 'Roja', 'Bombay' and 'Dil se').
It tells an intense story about 9 year old Amudha who, with the help of her adopted parents, seeks to find her birth mother in Sri Lanka.
The movie is set with the backdrop of the civil war in Sri Lanka.
Prakash Raj is irritating and his Sinhalese is all wrong.Though 'Kannathil Muthamittal' revolves mainly around the Tamil people, the film is, in a way, arguably a bit partial as it shows how the war has affected the Tamil people in Sri Lanka without implying how this also had severely dangerous consequences for the non-Tamil Sri Lankan.
Then again, the war is only a part of the film as 'Kannathil Muthamittal' is more about the unconditional love between two parents and their daughter.
If he had been working in Western Countries he would be considered in the same league as Stanley Kubrick, Stephen Spielberg or Martin Scorsese.With Kannathil Muthamittal ( A Peck on the Cheek) he has taken the two sensitive subjects of Adoption and the Civil War in Sri Lanka and linked them together to make a heart wrenching story.The entire cast is superb.
We are led from the jungle of northern Sri Lanka to the serene beaches of Southern India, as well as from the terror of war to the ultimate conquest by love of the human heart.
Beautiful, subtle, witty, with a few hidden surprises waiting for the viewer, this movie stands up to being seen again and again, and the story within the story, The Umbrella, is done so well, as we watch the scene unfold from drawings in a book.
Mani is back wit a Rathnam(gem) he manages to capture the mental trauma of a small girl searching 4 her mother they way he goes about showing the problems-in Ceylon is a treat..
Rahman a find of Rathnam has given some great tunes the lyrics r apt 4 the movie the locations used for the movie are very good and makes viewing pleasant the movie starts of in a light manner moves over to capture the feelings of the girl finally goes on o shed light into the life of people in war torn places across the world this is yet another classic from ManiRathnam.
They can be proud to show this movie at all film festivals for it has got everything that needs to name it as an "all time classic".
The war and its impacts in Sri Lanka through the eyes of a ten year old girl is the movie all about but the scenes and circumstances will surely be not the one that you will expect.
Madhavan no wonder he is one of the best actors in the country who can always add beauty and unique identity for the role he plays, and it needs real daringness to act as a father for three kids when he is considered as a dream boy with a glamorous personality in the industry.
Above all the story and the way it is told makes it as the best movie in the recent times..
I think this is one of the best tamil movies i've seen in a while.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to enjoy a good cry and some great acting (and superb songs!
You don't have to be a tamilian to appreciate this gem of a movie.I don't know a word of tamil and saw this movie only because a friend had recommended it to me.Understanding a movie without knowing the language is quite tough but I could make out the story because the lead actors (and actresses)emoted really well.And the little girl was really cute (she wasn't irritating like child actors in most hindi movies).The story is really touching and hats off to Mr. Ratnam  for trying something different.The relationship between the parents and their children are shown quite realistically.(I could identify with the characters in the movie).It was alltogether a movie that will remain  in my heart forever and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to my friends.Also the songs are just out of this world!They were beautifully and meaningfully picturised.If only I could understand the right meaning of the lyrics:(.
The war scenes were amazing, camera work excellent, and plot beautiful.
Mani Ratnam is a great director, and I hope his next film was a success..
I went to this movie without any expectation though I knew Maniratnam would've given an excellent film!
The story is about how an young girl Amudha who lives with her foster parents at Chennai, India leaves to Sri Lanka in search of her real mother.
And hats off to Mr.Maniratnam.Mani Ratnam has once again proved that he is a director who can take Indian cinema to great heights!
Back home and forgiven, Thiruchelvan tells Amudha the story of how she inspired his writing and how she caused the marriage between him and Indra.Inspired by real stories of adopted children from this area, I was attracted to this film because it appeared to be different from some other Indian films I had seen (specifically not a three hour romance with an album full of songs in it).
Simran was pretty good but the real maternal emotion comes from Das in a small but key role in the film.
Unlike many Indian films, the songs are restrained numbers that support the story rather than dominate it and the direction is good  again quite restrained and good at drawing the beauty out of the surrounding as well as staging large action sequences.
Where's the actor willing to bury his personality for the sake of the character?Why are Indian films ALL frickin' musicals?Kannathil Muthamittal has GREAT acting, ok, not great, only great comp'd w/ Indian movies, but good even by western standards.
In this movie mani ratnam does not exaggerate or give advices (like in Vuyire) but simply narrates the characters as they are .
Mani Ratnam has amazingly improved.21-04-2010: Now I can see how cunningly lots of scenes are put in this movie against the (so called) terrorists.
Based on a true story of an adopted girl who goes in search of her biological parents, Mr. Ratnam paints a classic that rivets as much as it rebukes, cherishes as much as it chastens and preaches as much as it practises.Where does one start?
With the crushing realization that she has no hope of staying with the one who bore her, Amudha does to her adoptive mother what this film's title means: a peck on the cheek.As for the cast, the trail is clearly blazed by the brilliant PS Keerthana.
Do not judge it as a lesson in film-making; you will only lose out on experiencing one of the very best from the Mani Ratnam-A R Rahman stable..
The backstory of how Madhavan and his wife come to adopt the child is extremely well done, with little histrionics, but a lot of love and heart.
We in America have little concept of the Tamil "insurgency" in Sri Lanka, but this film vividly portrayed the horrors of civil conflict in a country best-known for peace, love, and natural beauty.
Her desire to find her mother - quite unrealistic in the war-torn refugee camps of northern Sri Lanka - is nevertheless undertaken by her parents, one of whom is a famous novelist.This film moved me very much, and I'll check it out and see it at least once, again..
as compared to the usual fare we are subjected to in india, mani ratnam's movies like roja and bombay were sophisticated and magical.
in kannathil muthamittal everything, besides the cinematography and some of the acting, is strictly run of the mill.it does surprise me that people have liked this movie so much, but the majority of comments here are from non-indians, who probably are not so used to the emotion-hammering of indian cinema.
Maniratnam, who in India, is often compared with prominent world film makers and is regarded a genius in film-making, has yet again proved that he can only make the frames look visually good, without offering much food for thought.Forget about pure cinematic pleasure that can be derived from cinema as a very old form of art.While I would not like to claim and portray myself as someone who has seen all the beautiful movies made around the world, still any thoughtful and a bit educated film goer can identify that his films do not contain innovative ingenuous plots, does not contain lingering effects afterward and MOSTLY contain ridiculous ending and a LOT of melodrama, seen profusely in Indian movies.Overall, Maniratnam has successfully confirmed my distaste for his films once again.Sorry for those who on this board were claiming otherwise.
Unfortunately, the film's second half, which takes place in war-torn Sri Lanka, feels like an entirely different, and disappointing movie.
The final sequence, where the daughter and mother are reunited, is good, but so over-the-top with the music and a well-timed downpour that it feels like a cheat.
Several attempts at truancy later the adoptive parents take her to Sri Lanka to try to find her birth mother.
But this also leads to their meeting the new Shyama - one who finally is confronted by Amudha and asked why she abandoned her daughter.The story of a child who has to grapple with the fact that she was abandoned at birth, her obsessive drive to reconnect with her birth mother, the unconditional love of the adoptive parents, the demons that drive the birth mother, the normalcy of Chennai and the horrors of terrorism ravaged Sri Lanka - Mani Ratnam made a masterful film that blended many ingredients into a saga that is soul stirring.
The film has excellent performances from Madhavan, Nandita Das, Simran and an absolute stunner role as Amudha - the abandoned one - done by the child artiste P.
Most probably the best Tamil movie I've ever seen in my life.
Mani Ratnam has yet again proved that he is the best in making meaningful and heartfelt movies.This movie is basically about a young girl (P.S. Keerthana) who is in search of her biological mother (Nandita Das) who abandoned her in a refugee camp to fight for her country just like her husband (J.D. Chakravathy).
He and his wife (Simran) decide to adopt this young child but one day she finds out that they are not her real parents and decides to search for her biological mother.This movie really screams EXCELLENT.
The way Mani Ratnam presented the movie is magnificent.
Mani Ratnam has made movies similar in plot to Kannathil Muthamittal, which were Roja (narrating a love story amidst The Indo-Pak cold war for Kashmir) and Bombay (Another love story with Mumbai communal riots of the 90's in the background).This one is also a love story..
Be it the light moments between the girl and her adopted family, her constant frustration and persistent desire to meet her real mother, the miniature representation of the clashes between Sri-Lankans and resident Indians telling the story of an otherwise vast catastrophic situation present around, or the brilliant climax where even a cold hearted murderer would sob...
Seeing the impact all this had on the girl and parents (particularly the adoptive mother) was impressive to watch and sure sparked my interest.Unfortunately, Sri Lanka has been involved in a very, very long and brutal civil war with Tamilese militants, off and on, for three decades.
If it were me, I might have been tempted to pay an unemployed actress to play the part and fool the kid--thus avoiding being in the middle of a war!Despite my complaints, the film was lovely to watch and was very rewarding.
I found "A Peck On The Cheek" which I saw on a Netflix DVD, to be overall an extremely well done film, with excellent effects in the war scenes, and fine performances, especially the girl who played "Amudja".
She gave a very realistic and complex portrayal of a 9 year old, who upon finding out she was adopted (with little sensitivity by her parents), wants to find out who her biological mother was.
We have seen in flashback at the start of the film how her mother became married and why she gave her child up.