Tamil relationships on screen and in literature work because they are . They smell of petrol, jasmine, and rain-soaked soil. They are about two people trying to survive the city of Chennai, the gossip of the neighborhood, and their own damaged egos.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Karthik stopped Priya at a spot overlooking the sea. He took her hand, and with a nervous smile, began to recite a poem he had written for her:

You cannot separate from the music. In Tamil Nadu, the first "I love you" is rarely spoken—it is sung.

You haven't seen a romantic storyline until you've seen a Tamil couple share a single idli or a packet of sundal on Marina Beach. Food is intimacy.