We all love movies and when it comes to Mani Ratnam, who can resist?
Weaving his song sequences like a music video with synchronized rhythm and a large dollop of magic realism. The portrayal of realistic relationships. The strong narrative plus emotionally intoxicating scripts make him a contemporary director.
His films revolve around love- every layer and every kind of it.
World of love and its aftermath
When in love, It’s all lovey-dovey. The world seems beautiful. You even start looking at life differently and begin loving it. This version of romance is all about that thrilling moment. You think that someone may have just materialized, and will make every single thing in the world feel delicious and amazing and right forever and ever.
But does it last forever? No sweetheart, that doesn’t happen every time. You won’t be someone else’s dream, the heroine with the glimmering eyes and sultry smile forever.
After a few years or after marriage, the world turns upside down. A person who used to stick to every word of yours becomes deaf even to your shouts. The magic feels lost, and the person seems changed. What exactly happened, you start wondering.
Was it all a lie to get you? This question hovers around.
Let’s see why this happens through the Ayurvedic lens and with Mani Ratnam movies as the backdrop.
Vata Prakriti- Karthik (Alaipayuthe)
Karthik, the hero of the story with his cool looks and killer smile, sweeps us off our feet in the first scene. He perfectly embodies the Vata character. He’s a quirky, charming, lovable boy-next-door. He’s happy to live in the moment and at times oblivious of his privilege.
A software engineer, who’s trying to put together a startup with his friends. New millennium job, at a time when words like ‘startup’ were yet to become terms that everyone easily understood. This shows his creativity, risk-taking, and out-of-the-box thinking.
The way he tries to woo her and that proposal on the train which had us all swooning depict vata’s energetic impulsiveness and open personality.
When the heroine asks him to marry her, he agrees on a whim. They spend their time hanging out on the beaches and even on local buses. A simple “Hi pondatti” is enough to remind us of the scene. This shows that Vata will jump with you into anything you ask for.
This story reveals loving, getting married, and happily ever after isn’t the end. It depicts what actually happens after the sunset.
A few months into the marriage, when Shakthi dresses up especially for him in the morning, the first thing he asks for is the newspaper. He even starts complaining when he has to wait for an hour outside the house. Even though he was comfortable waiting 3 hours to meet her before marriage.
The transition from lover to husband and character change portrays how Vata can get comfortable and doesn’t put in much effort.
This doesn’t mean that love isn’t there. Love is there. When Shalini gets upset that her father is ailing and she needs to visit him. Karthik refuses at first and when he realizes that she actually listened to him. We can see the change of heart, he accompanies her to visit her father. Vata Prakriti can’t bear to see the love of his life suffer because of him.
He even sets up a meeting of his sister-in-law with the prospective groom with whom the alliance was broken. This shows how much he was invested in the relationship that he took her sister’s alliance into his own hands with all the risks involved.
The frantic search for his wife and by the time Karthik found Sakthi in the hospital, we were also 100% invested in their lives and wanted nothing more than the two of them to get back together. The fights will happen in every relationship, it’s how we come back that matters. Love is there, even if you see it or not. It’s just Vata things!
Pitta Prakriti- Shekhar (Bombay)
A tender, tragic love story on the backdrop of Hindu-Muslim conflict in Bombay. Shekhar, a journalism student, visits home to be with his family. When Shekhar first sees Shaila the wind lifts the veil right off her face and Shekar is smitten. It’s the sort of love-at-first-sight romance. PItta has the ability to identify the love of their life in just a glimpse.
Shekhar is not afraid to show his feelings for her. He takes risks by wearing burqas and riding along with the girl on the boat, just to convince Shaila. Asks her father’s permission to marry Shaila.
It depicts the Pitta’s personality of being straightforward, not afraid of any obstacles, and facing them with confidence.
When he confesses his love to his father. His father disproves it and hence he parts ways and leaves for Bombay to pursue his career and studies. This shows the bold side of Pitta, they are not afraid and will stand up for what they believe in.
After marrying her, he continues studying and takes care of her. They create a cozy home for themselves and their twin boys. He also gives cute syncretic names for the boys, a mixture of Hindu and Muslim.
When his friends fight over Hindu- Muslim, he steps up and makes them realize how religion has overtaken their friendship. He bravely asks questions about the riots happening in Mumbai to the police.
All these depict Shekhar’s determination, natural leadership qualities, practicality, go-getter, and strong desire for success. Indicating the high Pitta quality in him.
Kapha Prakriti- Aadhi (OK Kanmani)
This movie gives us the cuteness, the zingers, the youth ness- all in one. It’s typically a story of passion-driven, independent, and carefree youngsters ending up in a live-in relationship.
Every girl wished for a guy like Aadhi and every guy wanted to have a live-in relationship with a girl like Tara.
Aadhi is a video game developer who wants to make it big and rich like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. He’s carefree, charming, soft, and happy.
Kapha characteristics are strongly visible in Adhi. The way he frankly talks to the house owner, without caring how he might feel or the way he comes late to the office and distracts his lateness by proposing a new idea and winning the boss’s approval.
He meets Tara at a railway station and then again at a wedding. Sparks fly between them. Even though he asks for her number, he doesn’t make the first call. This is a true Kapha characteristic, they are basically lazy or forget it.
Adhi gets scared when Tara confronts him about meeting the parents about marriage or the fake pregnancy scare. Commitment scares the Kapha. He even tries to hide his relationship with Tara from his family.
He does not openly convey how he feels about Tara. He does so by gifting her and being close with her. Only when Tara asks him if he really care about her does he tell about his feelings.
He looks for a relationship that’s hustle-free and doesn’t want any tag attached to it. Aadhi and Tara go out and have fun. They don’t force themselves to settle down nor do they listen to others.
Only when they realize the love, do they think of committing to each other.
The Final Verdict
When you think of love, and romance, you expect it to last forever. But once you’ve been married for a long time, a whole new kind of romance takes over. It’s not the romance of rom-coms, watching someone’s every move like a stalker, and wanting to talk every day. It’s not even the romance of “Whoa, you bought me flowers, you must really love me!”
It’s more like you look tired, you take rest and I will not disturb you. Every relationship will have its own ups and downs, what matters is how one overcomes it.
No two persons are alike. Every person is different. Every person is difficult to live with. What matters is who we choose to live with and understand.
Curious to know your Prakriti? Find it out here.
Related:
How to date your partner based on their Prakriti?
Gifting the Prakritis
