Sethu

“Sethu” (1999) is an iconic romantic tragedy film by director Bala. It stars Vikram and Abitha in the lead roles. The film centres around a fiery young upstart college student whose belligerent attitude starts to get tempered after he falls in love with a reserved, traditional Brahmin girl. Just when love begins to change him, a violent confrontation with the police permanently damages his developing brain and sends his life in a horrific and tragic new direction.

The film centres on Sethu, a hard-nosed college goon dubbed as Chiyaan, a hotheaded street fighter whose contentious relationship with his elder brother Vasudevan, a magistrate, unfolds. His life takes a turn when he meets his love interest, Abitha, a best friend-less quiet storm, who becomes the object of his affection after he helps her retake an exam she had previously denied. Despite his feelings, Abitha is engaged to a priest who ultimately steps away from the engagement.

Despite Sethu’s loving confession, when genuinely afraid for her life Abitha spurns him, a violent confrontation ensues and Sethu’s reaction is unnecessary and brutal. After rescuing Abitha’s sister from a brothel, Sethu’s good side comes breaking through. However, in a desperate move, he kidnaps Abitha to confess his love, and she eventually accepts him.

When a gang from one of the local brothels attacks Sethu, it is a tragedy that finds her first, leaving Sethu beaten with her skull fractured, her heart broken and her mind disquieted into insanity. After decades of mental anguish in a lunatic asylum, he frees himself, only to learn that Abitha has committed suicide. Heartbroken, Sethu goes back to living a hollow life.

“Sethu” is a stunningly emotional love story that compellingly examines love, metamorphosis, and the delicate hint of insanity in one’s mind. The doc starts with a real wallop and unfolds into an emotionally charged journey that is full of tenderness, pain, and loss. Its emotionally wrenching narrative and shattering climax truly linger, claiming the viewer’s heart in what becomes one of the most powerful film depictions of how love can save and destroy a life eternally marked by destiny.