Priyamani is exuberant in her role as Cheenu’s lover and the change in her outlook as she realises the obstacles they have to face appears genuine and natural. The development of Cheenu’s character here is convincing and Dhanush is believable as the young man realising that he will have to change his ways and actually get a job if he wants to marry against his family’s wishes. The difficulties of an inter-class relationship are well explored and developed despite the initial romance not being given the same treatment, and the pair’s behaviour is realistic in this context. It’s hard to decide if this is also partly because he is trying to hide the relationship from his father as Cheenu is very well aware that he will not approve. This is a lovely song, and I’m sorry I can’t find a better quality version.Ĭheenu tells his friends a little about his romance, but doesn’t introduce them to Thulasi and actually hides her in the bathroom when one of his friends visits. He seems ashamed of his relationship with a girl from a lower class. It’s obvious they are in love and Cheenu is determined to marry Thulasi, we don’t need to know any more about it than that. Balu Mahendra shows their romance developing in a song and doesn’t spend much time on it. In the space of the few days they have, they end up falling in love and into a committed relationship –this is the dream period of the film title. On the other hand, he behaves like any typical young man when faced with a pretty girl, and his gauche reactions seem very natural. She is also very aware of her social status and despite her attraction to him acts like any proper young servant girl should.
Although younger, Thulasi is more mature than Cheenu. Cheenu and Thulasi were friends as children and while Thulasi is obviously still attracted to Cheenu, he initially doesn’t recognise her.
When his parents go away for a few weeks, the family maid Satya (Kalai Rani) is unwell and sends her daughter Thulasi (Priyamani) in her stead.
Mostly she is helpless and unwilling to intervene between father and son. Cheenu’s mother is sidelined throughout the film and rarely gets a chance to speak. Cheenu insists that he is nothing like his father and is obviously afraid of him, but as we see when he is out with his friends, he has exactly the same violent temper and tendency to strike out when he is angry. His father Ganeshan (Delhi Ganesh) is a strict disciplinarian with a tendency to violent outbursts as he berates Cheenu for his apathy and lack of enthusiasm with job hunting. He is lazy, spoilt and petulant seemingly as a result of his mother’s indulgence. Srinivasan (Dhanush), nicknamed Cheenu, is the only child of middle class parents and spends his days lazing around with his friends after finishing his degree. The film begins by exploring the issues of class and the pressure of social expectation which is interesting and engaging, but then it loses direction after the interval and the end is basically a disappointment. Athu Oru Kanakalam has all the right ingredients to be a good film, but despite an acclaimed director, an interesting storyline and impressive performances from the cast it doesn’t all come together as it should.