The story is told through the point of view of the protagonist Murugesan (Pasupathy), who recalls his childhood in Virudhunagar town. His father is a butcher who works hard to bring up his four children - two boys and two girls, and has a happy family.
Murugesan dotes on his younger brother Kathir and his weakness, like any other adolescent is love for movies (especially MGR films) that are screened in a local theatre. But one day life changes for him when his father catches him red-handed from the theatre after he bunks school. The child is severely punished. He runs away from home taking money and jewels.
Along the way Murugesan gets sidetracked from his intended destination of Chennai by an MGR Movie poster. He's shown watching several MGR shows, buying a change of clothes and eating a hearty meal with his ill-gotten money. After spending the night at local temple, he wakes up to find his money and other possessions missing.
Murugesan is then taken under the wing of a theatre projectionist in a nearby town and slowly the theatre becomes his home. As an adult, he falls in love with Thangam (Priyanka), a beautiful girl who lives opposite the theatre but their love story does not have a happy ending. Murugesan is crestfallen after Thankam’s death and takes to the bottle. Sometime later the theatre is demolished, the owner citing loss of business.
He decides to return home after 20 years. The rest of the film is all about Murugesan’s mental turmoil, as he is caught between the deep love showered by his younger brother Kathir (Bharath), who runs a successful advertising agency, and his guilt of not being a responsible son or elder brother.
The crux of the tale revolves around the evolving relationship between Murugesan and Kathir, while life carries them through many highs and lows.
Did you know? This is the first Tamil film screened at Cannes as part of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival under the 'Tous les Cinemas du Monde' section. Read More
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