’’Superb story idea... ’’
I can imagine Mani sitting near his writing desk and conjuring this premise...
’’3 men... totally different... meet... explosive meeting... high tension conflict... stunning resolution... a masterpiece! What superb opportunities! ’’
Wow! And then he gets down to writing it...
’’The men... they meet... Hah! What a nice way to present these scenes!... OK, we have established the characters... now the meeting... they meet... then... then what... then what... oh, this is so tiring... let me give up... Yuva in Hindi... Simultaneously Aaytha Ezhuthu in Tamil... 11 actors... superb posters... IIFA premiere... wow! ... the script?... To hell with that! ... Anyway, I have Cartoonist Madan and the likes of him to defend my movie... he is sure to say something stupid like, ’’Mani Sir has blasted the revered Classic Three Act Structure… we Tamil audiences must go to the theatre with an open mind…”… well… there’s something about this script that is bugging me… something about it – Oh Hell! Forget it!… International Premiere… Bilingual ! ’’
The script lay forgotten there… 180 pages … Maniratnam’s screenplay… the same mind that penned Kannathil Mutthamittal… Iruvar… today, Aaytha Ezhuthu… the screenplay lay on the table, its Cover Page bearing the freshly stamped “FINAL DRAFT”… the table lamp is switched off by Mani, as he gets up to go for his Casting Session… the screenplay lay there… abandoned… the fate of the movie sealed that very minute… more than a year ago.