Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar
Indra – Amudha
Mani Ratnam’s directorial Kannathil Muthamittal delves into not just one mother-daughter relationship, but two: Indra (Simran)’s bonding with Amudha (Keerthana), and Amudha’s dynamics with her biological mother, MD Shyama (Nandita Das). Indira, a quintessential working woman, takes care of her two kids, her husband, her father, and household work. She excels as a doting mother, only until her husband Thiruchelvan (Madhavan) reveals to Amudha that she was adopted.
Amudha questions Indira, “Na unna maari irukennu yen poi sonna?” (Why did you lie that I was like you?) When Amudha goes missing, Indira shifts from relief to desperation to anger and then finally settles with self-doubt as she questions herself: didn’t she bring up her child well?
Similarly, when Indira, Amudha, and Thiruchelvan travel to Sri Lanka to meet Shyama, Amudha seeks warmth from her father, portraying the strained relationship between the two. Indira’s relationship with Amudha is best defined by the song ‘Oru Deivam Thantha Poove,’ as she sings, ‘Iraval Velicham Nee; Iravin Kanneer Nee’ (you are my light and tears in the night).