'It's difficult to narrate some love stories... We have tried' — This statement is what opens Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam, Gitanjali Selvaraghavan's debut film. Working from a script written by her husband, Selvaraghavan, the director has given us a film that, like most Selvaraghavan films, explores an aspect of romance that mainstream cinema finds queasy to talk about.

The film begins with Manoja (Wamiqa) being wooed by her one-time boyfriend Tarun (Sharran) and flashes back to narrate her life with Prabhu (Balakrishnan). He is, again, like most Selvaraghavan heroes, an introvert, who doesn't k... read the rest.