Kaatru Veliyidai

The film begins with a shot of the Kargil War showing the advances made by Indian soldiers. An Indian Air Force fighter jet is shot down by the enemy. The pilot Varun Chakrapani ejects from the hit aircraft and lands in enemy territory. The Pakistani Army promptly surrounds him. They imprison him in the Rawalpindi as a Prisoner of War (PoW) and subject him to torture. While being held captive, he reminisces about his romance with Leela.

Leela comes to Srinagar to work as a doctor. Meanwhile, Varun has an accident while on a joy ride. He is brought in a critical condition to the hospital. With the duty doctor not available, Leela takes charge, treats Varun and nurses him back to health. But, with little regard to her feelings, he gets out of the hospital without her knowledge. Dr Illyas Hussain, an army doctor helps him with this.

When Leela comes to know about it, she and Nidhi, her colleague confront Illyas about it. Illayas then arranges for Leela and Nidhi to come to an Airforce meeting the following week and there they meet Varun. Varun impresses her with his excellent dance moves at the Ball. He tells her she should meet him at the Flying Club the next Saturday at 5 pm if she likes him back. Leela accepts and Varun takes her for a joy ride in his private aircraft to apologize for running away from the hospital.

Varun gets to know that Leela is his course pilot's Ravi Abraham's sister, who died in a flight which Varun was supposed to fly in. Both develop feelings for each other. Later, Leela doesn't meet Varun for 2 months and questions Illyas about his whereabouts. He reveals that Varun has orders to be in a camp at Leh Military base for 3 months. Leela and Nidhi go to meet him. When Varun asks whether Leela came to meet him, she says yes. But also that she wanted to see the place where her brother Ravi died. He takes her to the spot. Slowly she realises that Varun has a dark side to his personality, which is very different from what she has seen.

Back to the present, Varun and two other Indian prisoners plan to escape from the Rawalpindi prison. Back to the past, Leela leaves and he tells her that she'll get couriers from him. He's true to his word. One day, the officers are discussing their attack and she airs her opinion on the subject. Varun angrily tells her that God made men and women for different purposes and she can't talk about this. But, she retaliates by saying that both genders are equal and women are not made just to manage the house and give birth to children. Varun tells Leela to shut up, but she refuses. So, he orders her to do what he tells her. She gets angry and moves out.

He goes to her home and tries to make up with her by expressing his love for her. He says he's not like her. Hers is a nobler job than him as he kills and she saves lives. So, Varun takes Leela to a local Registrar office and tells her that they should marry. As she is not ready for marriage, he asks her to think about it and come the next day at 4.00 pm. In a sad turn of events, he leaves for Delhi forgetting about what happened at the Registrar office. This upsets Leela very much. She feels that sometimes he treats her like a Queen whereas at other times like a doormat.

Leela reveals that she's pregnant. Varun gets hesitant about it and Leela says that she'll take care of her baby by herself. The following day, Leela's grandfather dies. VC goes to her house and finds that Leela's father hates him. That night he goes and tries to convince them, but he doesn't get even a single word from them. Before Varun departs for the Kargil war, Leela tells him that she's resigning and leaving Srinagar. He pleads for one more chance and goes away to war. While fighting, he gets captured by the enemy and taken a prisoner. Somehow, Varun and the two other prisoners escape and reach India.

Varun starts searching for Leela. He finds her after 3 years. He tells her that he's a different person now. He says that he regrets his meeting her and loving her only to end up hurting her. VC is surprised to learn that Leela has a daughter. When he sees her daughter, Leela asks him whether she (the small girl) looks like her father or mother. VC's happiness knows no bounds. He tells his daughter that he crossed 7 seas and 7 mountains to meet her. VC asks Leela why she didn't try to contact him, to which she says that she was afraid he wouldn't like her or their daughter. They hug each other and Leela says that Rohini (VC's daughter) is his responsibility from there on.

The film had a theatrical release on 7 April 2017 in approximately 1500 screens worldwide.[30][31] While Sri Thenandal Films released the film throughout Tamil Nadu, Sri Venkateswara Creations bought the Telugu dubbing rights for the film and simultaneously released the Telugu version under the title Cheliyaa.[1][32] Rights for Kerala was acquired by Sibu Thameens, while Arun Pandian acquired the rest of India rights under his company A&P Groups.[33] The satellite rights of the film were sold to STAR Vijay.[34]

Upon release, Kaatru Veliyidai received mixed reviews; though critics predominantly praised the performance of Hydari along with Rahman's music and Ravi Varman's cinematography, they criticised Mani Ratnam's screenplay.[35][36][37] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion gave the film a high score of 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing "as a movie, Kaatru Veliyidai leaves you wanting, but as cinema, very little can come close to it". Rangan added "like some of Mani Ratnam’s recent films, Kaatru Veliyidai feels abstracted" and that the "director is in his mature phase" with "a little less obvious, little more complicated version of storytelling".[38] Anupama Subramaniam of the Deccan Chronicle wrote "Mani Ratnam, known for his romantic tales with a different note, surprises you with a fresh angle again", noting that it was "a poetic romance that is worth experiencing", while drawing particular praise for the performances of Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari.[39] A critic from DNA India noted that the film "does not disappoint" and that "to say that Mani portrays the lovers’ intense passion with a painter’s bold and indelible strokes would be no exaggeration", while similarly Rediff.com's Divya Nair called the film a "beautiful romance".[40][41] Malini Mannath of The New Indian Express wrote that "Kaatru Veliyidai is visual treat where roses overpower guns" and that despite a few glitches, it is a "love poem on celluloid".[42] Kaveree Bamzai wrote for dailyo that "Few directors understand women as well as Mani Ratnam. He understands they are complicated, vulnerable, strong, powerful, independent and submissive at the same time. But it is in his writing of Varun that Mani Ratnam shows real spunk. Kaatru Veliyidai may not be Mani Ratnam's best, but it beats Bollywood."[43] Tanul Thakur of thewire.in wrote in his analysis that "Kaatru Veliyidai's portrayal of toxic masculinity through the lens of a successful love story is much more intelligent and unsettling than it lets on."[44]

Sify's reviewer also praised the film stating "it is an experience you must enjoy", stating "if you like beautiful, intimate, playful, passionate love story in typical Mani Ratnam style then Kaatru Veliyidai is bang on".[45] Vishal Menon of The Hindu wrote "there are reasons why Kaatru Veliyidai is certainly no classic", "but when you leave the theatre with a lump in your throat, you remember how your love for this director doesn’t arise merely because he makes you smile — he does so much more than that".[46] Giving the film their highest score of 2017, Top10Cinema.com wrote "it’s a custom made film for Maniratnam buffs, who are very well etched up with his trademark pattern of storytelling" and that "he film has brilliant flash point of visual and musical poetry with some nuance performances too".[47] In their review, Behindwoods.com wrote the film "is a classical poetic love story" and that "it is not a film to watch but something to experience, but an experience that not everyone would accept".[48]

In contrast, Karthik Kumar of The Hindustan Times called the film "an underwhelming love saga", adding "visually, Kaatru Veliyidai is beautiful, beyond anyone’s imagination" but the film "does not move you emotionally".[49] Suganth of the Times of India noted "the leads have charm, and try their best to make us care, but we are never as emotionally invested in the fate of VC and Leela as we should be", though wrote "the film is saved to an extent by the technical proficiency on display — right from Ravi Varman’s lush visuals to Rahman’s peppy score and Sharmishta Roy’s realistic sets, the film is a treat technically".[50] The Bangalore Mirror's critic wrote "Kaatru Veliyidai eventually is one of Mani Ratnam’s weaker films and that’s disappointing, thankfully it is not a disaster like Kadal".[51] Likewise, a critic from The Indian Express wrote "Kaatru Veliyidai flunks the test" and "what we are left with is a few moments in which Hydari impresses, the spectacular scenery, shot by Ravi Varman, and a couple of rousing song-and-dance numbers, powered by A R Rahman’s score".[52]

Songs from the film have inspired the titles of other Tamil films. A film titled Vaanil Thedi Nindren, inspired from the opening line of "Nallai Allai", began production in May 2017, before being cancelled.[58] Likewise, a film titled Vaan starring Dulquer Salmaan began production in December 2018, with the name and first look poster drawing comparisons to the song "Vaan Varuvaan" from Kaatru Veliyidai.[59]

• Kaatru Veliyidai at IMDb