i finally snag a copy of kannathil muthamittal through netflix and spend new yera eve watch an amazing drama unfold . it begin with shyama ( a winsome nandita da ) get marry to dhileepan in the backwater of sri lanka and then a war take over their romance . shyama have to flee to india and be in a refugee camp a she give birth to a child . several year later we see amudha and a playful well love child ( p. s. keerthana ) and who be the darling ( or burden ) of teacher and parent and fellow schoolmate alike and in a very how to solve a problem like maria sequence . on her birthday she be tell by her parent thiru ( madhavan ) and indra ( simran ) that she be not their biological child and she be adopt . this tilt her confident love fill world and she constantly dwell on why her birth mother leave her . several attempt at truancy later the adoptive parent take her to sri lanka to try to find her birth mother . the country be tear asunder by a rag civil war and the trio be inevitably catch up in the mess . but this also lead to their meeting the new shyama one who finally be confront by amudha and ask why she abandon her daughter . the story of a child who have to grapple with the fact that she be abandon at birth and her obsessive drive to reconnect with her birth mother and the unconditional love of the adoptive parent and the demon that drive the birth mother and the normalcy of chennai and the horror of terrorism ravage sri lanka mani ratnam make a masterful film that blend many ingredient into a saga that be soul stir . ar rahman music beautifully complement the magical and the poignant moment in the film . the film have excellent performance from madhavan and nandita da and simran and an absolute stunner role a amudha the abandon one do by the child artiste p. s. keerthana . this performance win her a national award . the cinematography be visual poetry each frame be beautifully craft and breathtakingly shot . i be intrigue by the connection mani ratnam have with terrorism and love and obsession . i think his exploration of these subject be absolutely outstanding . mahadevan character be quite unique his passion and idealism do not make him selfish and rather be well match with how much he care for the little girl . his one liner be hilarious . the mother play by simran be also quite multi dimensional she be idealistic and love the adopted daughter but also worry about her biological kid . the shock and angst and and obsession of the child amudha be outstandingly portray by p. s. keerthana . her wide accusing eye do most of the talk . in fact the enigmatic character be those of nandita da and and her husband . perhaps mani deliberately make them mysterious so a to not give u overt idea of why they be the way they be the enigma of why a terrorist become what he or she become . it also keep him from be judgmental this be another conflict in which he take no side but merely report while show the human tragedy . kannathil muthamittal be visual poetry and a soul stir drama i rarely weep in the movie and but this one leave me moist eye and a little heartsick . this be a beautiful film a treasure and a keeper if you can find a copy while beg borrow or steal one today and watch the film .