And given that Shaad Ali did such a good job of the previous time he remade a Mani Ratnam film, it is even more surprising. I can see Saathiya and listen to its lilting songs any number of times(its Tamil original Alaipayuthey is mandatory viewing for anyone interested in mainstream romance).
The older couple, played by Prakash Raj and Leela Samson in Ok Kanmani, was the pivot around which the youngsters revolved, and learnt life lessons. The question that the immortal song asks — will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m 64 — is answered. Of course it is. And Adi and Tara complete the arc we knew they were set for from frame one, in two long hours and some. Of course they do.
Leela Samson, who plays a character afflicted with a degenerative illness, reprises her part: she remains as gorgeous but less effective in Hindi. Naseerudin Shah aces it, though: he underplays beautifully, and speaks his lines as they ought to be spoken, with an ache in the voice.