As the clock struck 4 pm, I was totally clueless as to what to do. Sleep seemed to evade me and for some reason, there was not the seriousness to watch a film. I decided to lie down on my cot for some time but I knew that lying down staring pointlessly at the roof of my room would only lead to an onslaught of thoughts which I needed not. All I needed was peace. And so, I resorted to the only option I could think of - AR Rahman.
As the playlist played on from the playful 'Pennalla pennalla oodhaa poo' of Uzhavan to the soul-stirring 'Naetru aval irunthaal' from Maryan to the out-of-the-world 'Thirakaatha kaatukullae' from En Swaasa Kaatre, I could feel a sense of serenity spreading over the stretch of my mind. And only if it had continued the same way. Alas! The strumming of guitar strings began. The slow buildup began. And 'Vaamalayeri varum thennal' in Alphons Joseph's voice began.
It was Aaromale from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya.
And I let out a sigh.
Not because I disliked the song. But because I loved it beyond description. And I loved the scene that followed the song in the film beyond description. Every single time I listened to Aaromale, I needed to play the scene that followed it on my laptop. I just couldn't resist the song. The scene, even worse.
The scene - a sequence where a man and a woman come across each other three years after their break-up (if it could be termed one in the proper sense) and sit down at a bench at the Central park to have a chat that begins with the pair discussing their current lives and ends up with the pair returning to their forlorn romance- is probably one of the best shot romantic scenes of Tamil cinema.
Right from its start - the sound of the birds chirping heard at the background as fallen leaves lay spread on the ground with Trisha's Jessie seated facing Simbu's Karthik who is shaking his legs (symbolizing his restlessness as well as the joy on seeing his loved one again) as the first dialogue begins - the scene assumes greatness.
As the camera slowly zooms in on the characters, one cannot fail noticing the slightly bent-about and damaged fence behind Karthik's back - a probable reference to the state of the relationship of the characters. The conversation begins with Karthik thanking Jessie for not walking away and as it slowly proceeds with Jessie mentioning about his dream of becoming a filmmaker coming true, comes a nod - a meagerly shy one from Karthik, putting forth the delicacy. And as Jessie continues with queries about Karthik's family, comes an abrupt 'Hmm.. Nalla irukaanga' (They are fine) from Karthik who quickly turns away, reflecting a sense of disinterest with the trivial chat. His hand hits his lap and Jessie turns away as the score - the strumming of strings with the magical piano touch (as only Rahman could) - begins, peaking the uncomfortable silence that prevails.
Jessie breaks the silence finally asking him if he wants to say something or ask, perhaps. And Karthik looks down slowly and turns away for a moment, signifying so beautifully that anything said or asked might probably have no positive outcome. As Jessie proceeds with the intruding 'Vera yaarum irukaanga la.. Enna Karthik?' (There is someone else right.. Karthik?), Karthik who keeps looking at the ground till then looks at Jesse abruptly, his eyebrows faintly raised, indicating an angry 'How could you?' and as Jessie continues, trying to iterate strongly that he must have moved on and there must definitely be another girl in his life, Karthik's mouth opens and closes momentarily depicting a silent sigh with him nodding in agreement and admitting to Jessie that there is indeed another girl. And now happens the so beautiful 'surprised and shocked' reaction of Jessie's to his statement which she quickly tries to hide with a forced laugh and silence.
Karthik goes about with his story of how he had met the other girl and as Jessie inquisitively persuades him to describe her, begins the slow zooming in on Karthik (building up the mood) as he describes the girl (every trait of her's matching with Jessie's) and comes to the 'defining' trait - 'Padam paaka avaluku pidikaathu' (She doesn't like watching movies) - with a momentary silence paving way for the melancholic Hosanna background score as Jesse's eyes widen in slow realization beginning to make our hearts heavy. And Karthik goes about with the description, his eyes slowly becoming teary and as he desperately looks at Jessie and delivers the final statement - 'Ava peru Jessie, Jessie!', any boy/girl who has suffered the misery of losing a loved one to the culprit called life would cease to live for a moment.
I try to remember any other scene that I have so fallen in love with. I try to think about the reason behind the immeasurable attachment towards this scene and as the scene plays again in my head, I find it hard to keep my heart beating at its proper rhythm.
I have faced the ridicule of many of my schoolmates who would call the scene a sappy one and would add that I was trying to over-worship it. But to me, it is one of the most plausible and sensible romantic scenes written and crafted depicting the helplessness of the characters as opposed to the regular norm of the Tamil cinema to always provide a way out of improbable situations for the leads. And moreover, when describing love, one can never be right to the fullest. Because, love in itself is a complicated issue.
And the heavy feeling that the scene left me with would have probably carried on for long if not for my decision to stop the film and continue with my playlist.
The next song turned out to be a continuation of the melancholic setting yet an absolute gem in its own right - the female version of Aaromale.
And I closed my eyes letting myself drown in Shreya Ghoshal's heavenly chants of Aaromale, slightly wishing at a corner of my heart that I had laid down on my cot staring pointlessly at the roof of my room in the first place instead of causing this chaos and this post.
Kadalinu karayodiniyum padan sneham undo?
Mezhukuthurikalayi urukan iniyum pranayam manasil undo?!
Some things are best left, unexplained.
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