Chithiram

Director: Teja
Cast: Udaykiran, Reema Sen, Manisha, Manivannan, Manorama, Senthil.

It is the Tamil version of a successful Telugu film. Partly dubbed in Tamil, and partly re-shot (the scenes of Manivannan, Manorama, etc.), this was the film that Reema Sen had signed before she signed ‘Minnale’. The actress is confident in her debut film. Udaykiran, also making his debut, depicts the innocence and curiosity of a teenager on his first date.

Janaki, the girl from U.S.A, returns to India and joins a local college. Her love for music draws her to Ramu, who is an expert guitar player. Their friendship soon turns into love and the inevitable happens. Janaki finds herself pregnant. While a terrified Ramu wants the baby aborted, Janaki for some sentimental reason wants to have the baby. The families are told, the duo goes through a hurried marriage, and set up an independent residence in Janaki’s outhouse. While Janaki has to skip her exams because of the baby, Ramu now not only has to go college, but also has take up a part time job to provide for the trio. The pressure starts taking its toll, creating a rift between the married couple. But the duo soon understands the responsibilities and reconciles their differences.

It is meant to be a message-oriented film about college students concentrating on their studies and not getting distracted. There is a lecture given by a professor to the two errant students, but the director does not seem to be very serious about passing on the message. Some of the scenes - like the growing physical intimacy part - are such that they may encourage teenagers to experiment rather than be a warning. The final scene, where the heroine gleefully announces that she is pregnant a second time, shows that the duo too have not learnt their lesson, despite all their problems and the lecturing they had received earlier in life.