Tamil play Mental Manadhil, a witty take on imperfect marriages

thRee entertains Mental Manadhil (concept by M.V. Bhaskar; story and dialogues by V. Sreevathson; direction by M.V. Bhaskar), inaugurated in Kolkata and recently staged at Krishna Gana Sabha, takes a humorous look at modern matrimony. Sundar (Prabhu) and Divya (Priya Kannamma) are in love. Sundar is determined not to become a dominating husband like his father, Mohan Ram (K. Subramaniam). Divya, however, wants her husband to be like her father, Subbu (M.V. Bhaskar). In Subbu’s household, only his wife’s opinion matters, and Subbu pretends that her views are his own to keep her happy. Divya believes her parents are an ideal couple, but the play reveals that marriages are not always what they appear to be on the surface.

The play rejected the myth that soulmates must be mirror images
| Photo Credit:
M. Srinath

Mohan Ram isn’t dominating and his wife Padma (Lavanya Venugopal) is anything but meek. They are happy in their marriage, while Subbu remains miserable. Divya, a replica of her mother, expects Sundar to agree with everything she says, convinced that a couple must share identical interests. In the early stages of their romance, Sundar does everything she wants. But eventually feels he cannot take it anymore and calls off the wedding. Padma helps Divya understand that a successful marriage doesn’t require identical tastes, but a shared sense of humour and a lot of patience.

The dialogue was sharp and relatable. As someone once defined it, marriage is the peaceful coexistence of two nervous systems, and the operative word here is co-existence. It implies that there will be tiffs and differences of opinion, but that conflicts will eventually be resolved. The play rejected the myth that soulmates must be mirror images. The modern idea of matrimony as two souls living in perfect harmony is far from reality. After all, what is a marriage without some friction to add spice? The cast’s performances, drove home the joys of an imperfect marriage.