Gunaa

Santhana Bharathi's 1991 Tamil film follows Gunaa, a man of disturbed mind. He believes a woman he has constructed in his head is real; taking a girl he sees at a temple to be that person, he abducts her and carries her to a cave in the mountains. The film presents this as a love story, and that is its central problem. The abducted woman does not consent for a long stretch and the narrative shows her becoming attached over time; seen now, that construction is not defensible. Kamal Haasan leads and his performance was much discussed in Tamil cinema. The place where the cave scenes were shot later came to be known by the film's name. The music and the cinematography are its strongest elements. Who it's for: those interested in nineties Tamil cinema and Kamal Haasan's choice of roles. Who it's not for: viewers troubled by the romanticising of abduction and coercion; the film places it at the centre.