PremiumIrugapatru on OTT: Not the greatest relationship drama but...
Irugapatru has an excellent set-up and it delves into relatable marital issues. It's easy to develop a feeling for these couples, making us feel like we are witnessing reflections of our own lives.
Last Updated: 08.09 PM, Nov 07, 2023
Director Yuvaraj Dhayalan's latest relationship drama Irugapatru has an excellent Act 1. He takes a minimalist approach in setting up this drama that revolves around three married couples, each representing different demographics, social backgrounds, education, and culture.
Take Mithra (Shraddha Srinath) and Manohar (Vikram Prabhu), a seemingly mature couple. They are well-to-do, highly educated, believe in gender equality and possess an evolved sense of relationship. Thanks to her job as a marriage counsellor, Mithra has exclusive access to a kaleidoscopic view of issues that plague marriages.
A popular statistic says 50 per cent of all marriages end in divorce. And Mithra is terrified of making a wrong move or having an emotional reaction to anything that happens in her relationship, fearing that she might become part of the divorce statistics. Her education in psychology only fuels her anxiety as she is always on the lookout for red flags in her relationship.
Manohar takes his own sweet time to realise the absence of conflict in his marriage. "How's this possible, sir?" exclaims a colleague of Manohar after learning about this fact. Mithra will soon find out that being excessively cautious is the greatest risk of all.
The second couple: Rangesh (Vidharth) and Pavithra (Abarnathi). To say Rangesh is upset with Pavithra's weight gain is an understatement. He's so obsessed with her changing physique post-pregnancy, that he can't even bear to look her in the eyes. He's always grumpy and nagging. Honestly, it's Pavithra, who must have asked for a divorce. But, Rangesh is the one who demands it.
Yes, in the current cultural and political climate, Rangesh would be cancelled for constantly body-shaming his wife. But, Pavithra's thought process is shaped by the ideals of a bygone era, where the husband held a god-like status. She vows to go on a strict diet and hit the gym regularly to get back in shape, which she hopes will rekindle Rangesh's love for her
However, Pavithra's postpartum weight gain doesn't seem to be Rangesh's actual problem. What's bugging him?
And Arjun (Sri) and Diviya (Saniya Iyappan) represent the challenges of today's young couple. Their love has waned, replaced by resentment. The marriage reaches a point where Diviya can't even share a room with Arjun.
Irugapatru has an excellent set-up and it delves into relatable marital issues. It's easy to develop a feeling for these couples, making us feel like we are witnessing reflections of our own lives.
However, Irugapatru loses its energy in Act 2. While it's often easy to build a good opening and the end, it's the journey in between that requires careful attention. These three couples and their marital struggles are the driving force of the narrative. Yet, by the end of the first hour, the two main couples, Mithra and Manohar, Arjun and Divya, lose their emotional intensity.
As these couples attempt to resolve their relationship issues, it starts to feel contrived and unnatural. This middle section of the narrative lacks character growth, as moments where they express a desire for change are quickly forgotten, and they revert to their old habits. This undermines the emotional impact of the ensuing drama, resembling a half-hour sitcom where major problems are effortlessly resolved with a flick of an emotional switch. All of a sudden, couples become highly sensible and show great awareness and willingness to learn and grow with each other. You know, the quintessential happy ending.
Irugapatru fails to offer the promises that it makes at the beginning. The expectation was to go on an emotional journey as the characters struggle to make sense of modern-day relationship problems and understand that functional marriage takes a lot of work, not just individual moments of great epiphanies. The film instead provides a quick crash course on the fundamentals of couple's counselling.
Irugapatru's relationship advice mirrors that of many similar films that have come before it, failing to offer a fresh perspective. Despite this, Irugapatru does have its touching moments and intriguing ideas. In particular, the performances of Shraddha Srinath, Vidharth, and Abarnathi provide enough reasons to stay engaged with the narrative.