AAYITHA EZHUTHU. jan 15

AAYITHA EZHUTHU
Mani Ratnam

One fateful incident on Napier Bridge in Chennai changes three men's lives forever. Inbashekar is a hitman who has no qualms about doing dirty dealings for money. He is assigned a job to shoot youth leader and student activist Michael, and succeeds on Napier Bridge, while Michael rides by on his motorbike. As Michael falls into the river, Arjun , a young student standing nearby is the sole witness of the incident.

After the attack is shown at the beginning of the film, the plot moves to tell each of the individuals' stories separately, and where the lives of each overlap. The three characters struggle with their own aspirations whilst trying to maintain a balance in their respective love lives. Inbashekar struggles to let go of his lifestyle, encouraged by his brother, despite pleas for change from his wife Sasi . Michael, a passionate student activist works to rally students to participate in fighting corruption in politics, and tries to balance this with a relationship with his playful, gutsy neighbour Geetha. Arjun must decide between studying abroad and shaping a career in America, or forming a long-term relationship with Meera. The structure of the film is loosely based on Amores Perros.

Director's note (from the Madras Talkies website)
Aayitha Ezhuthu - the title of the film came about the last. The character came several years back, based on the life of a student of Osmania University. The research was done, but the structure for the script was not worked out at that point. The germ, however, remained with me for years.
Six weeks into the shoot, the title Aayitha Ezhuthu was finalized.
When something happens around us, be it good or bad, everyone has a way of reacting to it. Some of us see how it can be useful to us. And if we can, we make the best of it and get on.
Some others think that they can step in and help, chip in, contribute, be proactive. They believe in the power of ONE. That each and every individual can make a difference if one puts one?s mind to it.
There are certain others, probably the majority of us, especially in this time and age, that believe that if we take care of ourselves the world will take care of itself.

These three views form Aayitha Ezhuthu.