Irugapatru

Yuvaraj Dhayalan's 2023 Tamil film follows three couples from different economic backgrounds trying to repair their marriages, bringing them together in the room of a marriage counsellor. The counsellor's own marriage is in trouble, and the film does not hide it. The story is at its best in not tying the problems to a single culprit: nobody cheats, nobody is bad; a failure to communicate, class difference and the weight of expectation are enough. Presenting marriage counselling as a route to a solution is an unusual choice in mainstream Tamil cinema. Shraddha Srinath and Vikram Prabhu are strong. The three lines are not developed equally and the final section is too corrective. Who it's for: viewers who like contemporary Tamil drama and stories about relationships. Who it's not for: anyone wanting plot, or troubled by an ending that lectures.