The first time Ammu’s (Aishwarya Lekshmi) husband, Ravi (Naveen Chandra) hits her, she stands there, for a moment, in disbelief—it is like the fabric of her reality has been ripped apart: this is a man she has begun to fall in love with over the past few weeks, someone she considers home. She then walks away, and he goes after her, holds her, tries to console her, but insidiously, immediately begins persuading her that this is not who he is, that he had reasons for acting out, a story that Ammu eventually internalises and tries to conform to, forgetting the truth. It is perhaps the best acted scene of the year, with a stellar performance by Aishwarya Lekshmi, who is so searingly real in the way she breaks down under abuse, that it is often painful to watch. She is equally compelling in the scenes when she finally gets to dish out his comeuppance.