Geethanjali (1990)
While most of Mani Ratnam's movies have a romance angle going on, love usually gets overshadowed by the socio-political message -- which is why Geethanjali (Telugu, released in Tamil as Idhayathai Thirudaathey) comes as an exception.
One of the more frills-free romantic films he has made, this one's a winner just because of Illayaraja's music. The songs are spectacular -- the slow O Paapa Laali (which has become a perennial Telugu film music favourite), O Priya Priya (copied by the same name in the Aamir Khan-starrer Dil) and the foot-tapping Jallanta Kavvintha, in particular.
The film eschews the traditional young-lovers-beset-with-difficulties storyline. Here, the protagonists (Nagarjuna and Girija) are terminally ill patients, and their love teaches them to be strong in the face of impending death.
There is no over-abundance of sentimentality, as one might expect from such a storyline. In a way, this film evokes the same warmth that Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand brought to the screen, and is equally memorable. Much cannot be said of the Hindi remake Yaad Rakhegi Duniya.
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