PremiumClassic Pick – Why Mani Ratnam’s Mouna Ragam is relevant even after 37 years of its release?
Mouna Ragam, the 1986-released Mani Ratnam directorial still astonishes the cine-goers with its progressive take on marriage and relationships. Let’s revisit the classic here...
Last Updated: 11.07 AM, Dec 23, 2023
Mani Ratnam established himself as one of the finest filmmakers in the country with some iconic films that changed the visual language of Tamil cinema. Even though the master craftsman made his directorial debut in 1983 with Pallavi Anu Pallavi, it was the 1986-released romantic drama Mouna Ragam that emerged as a major turning point in his career. The movie, which starred Revathy and Mohan in the lead roles and Karthik in a cameo appearance, earned cult status over the years. It is one of those rare films which stood the test of time, and aged like a fine wine.
Now let’s revisit Mouna Ragam and find out why the Mani Ratnam directorial remains relevant, even after 37 years of its release...
A modern take on marriage, relationships, and consent
Mouna Ragam presented the first Tamil film ‘hero’ of the 1980s ( the character Chandra Kumar – played by Mohan to near perfection), who genuinely cared about consent. This male lead came as a breath of fresh air amidst the long list of the 80s Tamil cinema ‘heroes’ who justified the husband’s rights over his wife in every possible way, and the female leads who even insisted on how ‘lucky’ they are to be slapped by their 'purushan' (husband).
The Mani Ratnam directorial had the leading man who immediately took his hands off his legally wedded wife when she says “neenga thotta kambali poochi oorura maathiri irukku” (your touch feels like the crawling of caterpillar). Chandru is someone who surprised his wife with a pair of anklets and the divorce she asked for, as his first gifts for her after their marriage. Among the never-ending list of heroes who celebrated toxic masculinity, he was the leading man who was sensible, mature, lovable, and most importantly, much ahead of his time.
Divya (a marvelous Revathy) was the highly unlikely leading lady of that era, who was courageous enough to admit her flaws and voice out her needs. She was daring enough to ask her mom how even her family thought of pushing her into the bedroom of a stranger, just because he tied a ‘thali’ on her neck. It’s been 37 years since Mouna Ragam hit the theatres. Well, that question stays relevant even now, as the women never stopped asking it (at least, to themselves). In the era of Arjun Reddys, Kabir Singhs, and Animals, this Mani Ratnam directorial comes across as a much more progressive film.
The sensible approach to past relationships
As the audience, we are now witnessing the unbelievable box office successes of films that celebrate misogyny and sexism to its fullest. We are watching the heroes who believe it’s okay to abuse their love interest for not choosing him over her own family, or for wearing the lingerie of her choice. But, in Mani Ratnam’s 1986-released film, we witnessed the woman who opens up about her past relationship and late boyfriend (a very charming Karthik) to her newly wedded husband. And the man, on the other hand, listens to her with patience and respect. Well, it is still hard to believe that those scenes were written somewhere during the mid-1980s, which is supposedly a not-so-progressive era.
I can’t recommend this gem of a film enough if you are, in case, unaware of it or missed watching it. The stellar performances by Revathi, Mohan, and Karthik, the soul-stirring music by maestro Ilaiyaraaja, the stunning visualization by P.C. Sreeram, and most importantly, the impeccable writing and making (especially the powerful dialogues) by Mani Ratnam himself, make Mouna Ragam an absolute classic. You can watch this gem of a film on Amazon Prime Video.