Directed by K. Balachander, Ninaithale Inikkum (1979) is a melodrama film from Tamil cinema. Features Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Jaya Prada and Jayasudha. The film follows pop star Chandru, who meets the mysterious Sona at a hotel and later again at the Singapore airport. Attracted to her charm, he wishes to meet her once more, but she vanishes with a fake address. She shares a devastating truth when he eventually finds her, she is fighting end-stage blood cancer.
Sona, the daughter of a wealthy Singaporean entrepreneur, loses her possessions, and cash on a trip to India. Though in exchange, he forces her to participate in a smuggling operation, a smuggler volunteers to assist her. Following his strategy, Sona acts to be a fan of well-known singer Chandru and arranges a meeting at a hotel. She leaves after hiding a diamond within one of his guitars. The next day, Chandru and his music troupe leave for Singapore, but by chance, he forgets to take that particular guitar. Sona travels on the same flight and gradually becomes close to Chandru.
Though her original goal was to recover the diamond, she starts genuinely falling in love with him. However, she hides her feelings because she is suffering from terminal blood cancer. Meanwhile, the smuggler threatens her for losing the diamond. Chandru misunderstands Sona’s behaviour and thinks she was using him. Later, the smuggler lets her go, feeling sorry for her. Sona comes back to India and shows up at Chandru's home, where the truth is disclosed. Chandru weds her notwithstanding his mother's reservations, and Sona's ailment. Among Chandru's troupe, Sona spends her last days loving and happily. Following her calm death, Chandru promises never to wed again.
Ninaithale Inikkum is an emotionally charged and musically opulent movie combining love, drama, and grief with some mystery. The film captures the peaks, and valleys of love, trust and loss against brilliant backdrops and memorable music. Its emotional depth of its characters and its deft transition between light-hearted comedy and strong emotion are its greatest assets. The film's sincere narrative and powerful performances leave a lasting impression.