But the director is clueless about how to tie up these threads. And the attendant question: What if the jacket was really made of Rexine? Here – and this is the film’s USP – there is an attempt to immerse oneself in the other’s religion, something that’s part empathetic act, and part subversive thrill, like being a PETA member and slipping on a leather jacket. And this isn’t just another “religion angle,” with the lovers belonging to different religions but not really caring about it (though their parents certainly do) because their real religion is love. On the surface, this is just another story where man and woman (Y, played by Nazriya Nazim) fall in love and have to clear a number of obstacles before they breast the tape that says “happily ever after.” But because religion plays such a big part in the proceedings, this isn’t just another story. This is a film where people aren’t who they say they are, and their names play a big part in these charades. Jai’s character, in Anees’s Thirumanam Enum Nikkah, chooses the tougher option – and I’d rather not tell you the name of this character.
It’s more difficult to stay alive and persevere, even if it means a drastic realignment of your life. How far will you go when you’re in love and the going gets tough? Throwing yourself off a cliff is easy – you’re dead.
