Lover review: Manikandan, Sri Gouri Priya shine in poignant portrayal of modern love

Cast: Manikandan, Sri Gouri Priya, Kanna Ravi, Saravanan, Geetha Kailasam, Harish Kumar, Nikhila Shankar, Rini, Pintu Pandu and Arunachaleshwaran

Writer & Director: Prabhuram Vyas

Cinematographer: Shreyaas Krishna

Editor: Barath Vikraman

Music Director: Sean Roldan

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: A relationship of six years finds itself in a love-hate situation as possessiveness and insecurity take over.

When debutant feature filmmaker Prabhuram Vyas 'Livin' series released in 2017, it changed the landscape when it came to the making of Tamil shows for the YouTube audience, especially on modern love. His previous venture 'Livin' was path-breaking as it broke the cliches of storytelling and normalised live-in relationships in Chennai. 'Lover' was expected to be on par with it.

The film begins with Divya (Sri Gouri Priya) hanging out with her friends playing the game that brought a revelation to Haritha about Harish in 'Livin' (except here it is played on a smartphone), and that's when she receives repeated calls from Arun (Manikandan). She first hesitates to pick up and eventually does, fearing he might find out where she is and fight over. The very first scene establishes the characters well.

Fear is what Divya feels when Arun is around. Arun wants to know everything about what Divya does, where she goes, with whom she lives, and if it is with men or women. She is being controlled and doesn't have the agency to do what she wants. When Arun prevents Madan (Kanna Ravi), a vlogger and office colleague, from taking clips of Divya in a swim-suit fearing her 'dignity' and that her parents would not like to see her in the dress, she stops Arun saying, "No Arun, this is what I feel I am".

The only time Divya feels she is in a somewhat 'healthy' relationship is when she is intimate with him and when they talk to each other honestly. Arun tries to redeem himself and feel regretful for his actions by saying sorry to Divya several times, but she feels it isn't earnest and are empty apologies. When she confronts him saying that his act of suicide when she doesn't do what he wants is like keeping a knife on her neck, he stops doing so.

Arun himself knows his faults, he confronts his dad for drinking and for asserting physical abuse on his mother Kala (an excellent Geetha Kailasam), but is an alcoholic by himself. He questions Divya when she lies, but when he does, he doesn't want that to be talked about further. His view on women in general is outdated, old-fashioned and chauvinistic, yet, he tries to change.

Manikandan plays an author-backed character and possesses the qualities of toxic masculinity. The ace actor plays the role of Arun as close to reality and brings layers to the flawed character. His costumes are also in sync with his emotions. Sri Gouri Priya is equally good as she is constantly going through struggles in her relationship and is seen in a state of confusion in taking the relationship forward. Gouri Priya seamlessly brings out Divya's boldness to stand up for herself and not fear to voice out against Arun's controlling behaviour. She shouts at Arun when he behaves aggressively and asks him to change. These scenes make up the majority of the first half of 'Lover', and we already love it.

Second half the film's strength lies. Prabhuram Vyas has blended the emotional connect with a bit of humour. Here is where we get to see more of Kanna Ravi, who plays Madan, a man with OCD (like Harish) who was once possessive to his girlfriend and had to let it all go, in a near-perfect manner. Madan foreshadows Arun's journey and understands what Divya feels. When Divya questions her decision on breaking up with Arun as her friend had asked her to give him an another chance, Madan tells her to make her own decision as she only knows what she and they went through. Divya's emotional breakdown to Arun's mother is well-shot and performed. Other character arcs also get an elevation along with the performance, making 'Lover' a Valentine's weekend special.

Sean Roldan does what Girishh Gopalakrishnan did for 'Livin'. Girish's background music at each episode's end in 'Livin' perfectly matches with the episode's tone and Sean Roldan does the same here. He lifts the film's mood up with his background score and songs and doesn't go overboard. The music is perfectly in sync with the film's constant shift of tone. Barath Vikraman's editing is slick, he doesn't prolong scenes and cuts it with flow to the film's tone.

The only hiccup in the film lies in its backstory is that the director could have delved deep into details of the family background as that takes the front seat in the crux of the story.

Overall, 'Lover' isn't path-breaking in the genre of modern love like 'Livin' (both have the same ending by the way), but it is made with such passion that it poignantly conveys the meaning of moving on from a breakup. The film never glorifies Arun's actions and balances both people's viewpoints involved in love and states that letting go of someone takes a lot of time, patience, and understanding, and it is very much possible.