Kaatru Veliyidai trailer: This film will make you fall in love again

The trailer of Mani Ratnam's Kaatru Veliyidai, starring Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari, is finally out, and it is worth every bit of the wait. Beautifully shot and composed, the film is a signature Mani Ratnam love story. 

The trailer begins with a shot of army cadet Karthi flirting with the pretty Aditi Rao Hydari at a salsa party in the cantonment. Karthi plays a helicopter pilot while Hydari plays a doctor. The trailer is filled with the upbeat rhythms of AR Rahman's music, who is returning to form.

The trailer then moves into some beautifully shot vast expanses in snow-capped Kashmir, a favourite of Mani Ratnam's. The trailer also portrays the characters of Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari going through an emotional transformation and finding their love for each other challenged. The almost obsessive declaration of love by Karthi's character is an insight into the character's arc from flirty to emotionally obsessive. 

Both leads look like good casting choices. S Ravi Varman's camera enhances the joy, anguish, and delight of love against the scenic backdrops. The vast expanse, and the scene of Karthi's lost soldier struggling through the barren land, is symbolic of the film's title Kaatru Veliyidai. Taken from a poem by Subrahmanya Bharathi, it refers to his declaration of love as the only thing filling the vacuum of life.

Rahman's vibrant music is another plus that adds to the mood and tempo of the trailer. 

After the low point of Raavanan, Mani Ratnam hit back with a peppy, complex short story on love in the new millennium in OK Kanmani (2015). Kaatru Veliyidai seems to be treading similar ground.  Karthi, at a recent press conference, called it a 'classic love story like Alai Payuthey (2000)'. While that remains to be seen, the film's larger-than-life canvas and army backdrop certainly bring back memories of Roja (1993).

With the director's record in filming complex, emotional love stories, this is one film to watch out for.

Kaatru Veliyidai is directed by Mani Ratnam. It is scheduled for theatrical release on 7 April. Watch the trailer above.