Indians boast of great romantic stories originating from their land. They make frequent references to these in all their literary works and are proud to have come from the land of mumtaz - shahjahan, heer - ranjha and laila - majnu. But, if that is the case, then why does the rest of the international film fraternity mock continuously at Indian romance movies calling them nothing but weird musicals. They say Indian tales of love are artificial bollocks of piled up cliches. There is nothing real in this kind of love, they say. To an extent they are right. Thanks to film makers who , claiming to be using super symbolic allegories, depict a kiss by showing 2 flowers covering the faces of the actor and the actress and depict sex by showing only the clothes on the floor or sometimes only the light going off. There is song , there is dance, but there is no romance. They say.

Because of these Indian film makers who forget the essence and the need for physicality behind any good romantic relationship, the contributions of some other Indian 'gods of filmi romance' are completely over looked. This being the early stages of the fifty article series, we are yet to move away from Kamal the actor and so this post is about why the way Kamal loves women on screen is the way it should be done.

Very early in his career as male lead, Kamal bagged the role of a lifetime. The very name of the movie describes the scope for romance (of all forms). Manmadha Leelai - K. Balachander's flashy sex comedy where the married protagonist has a very obvious weakness for most of the beautiful women he meets (Including a lady whom he only talks on phone to. He calls her 'wrong number')

Kamal , though a fresher then, played out this brilliantly scripted character with an unforgettable ease. The way he repeats his catch phrase to every women he meets is a complete treat to watch.

woman:- Ungallukku Kalyanam aayirutha?

Kamal :- Indha Kelvikku Naa eppodhume Illa nu dhaan badhil solluven. Yen theriyuma?

Woman:- Yen?

Kamal:- Yen na, enakku nejamave kalyanam aaghala

Later on in his career, Kamal constantly stood for realistic and aesthetic portrayal of romance on screen. The scenes of Kamal kissing his heroines on their lips with Ilayaraja's beautiful music flowing in the background became a common thing. The real lovers of good, honest cinema found art in it. The other immature people saw vulgarity. But undeterred with all the unnecessary criticism, Kamal continued till as recent as even Virumandi to show what true love is all about.

The physical bond, when shown, helps a lot more in establishing the connection and the warmth in the audience's mind. And in stories where after making love, the pair is split or killed, these scenes add a lot more value and go on to have a much bigger effect on the audience. Starting from Kamal's kiss to Rekha in Punnagai Mannan, to his intimate romance with Gauthami in Devar Magan, Nammavar, Kurudhi Punal and more, each act is a masterful depiction of hundred percent true love. And that is how it has to be seen.