Navarasa

Episode 1

Edhiri: Karuna

Fri, Aug 6, 202131 mins

Dheena (Vijay Sethupathi) visits the house of a man (Prakash Raj). The man's wife Savihtri (Revathi) is teaching the children of her domestic help. After a while, Savitri goes to her husband's room and finds, to her horror, that he has been killed. Meanwhile, Dheena sends his wife Malli (Sai Tamhankar) and toddler daughter to safety and takes shelter in a friend's house. As the police investigation is on, Savithri's son Varun (Ashok Selvan) unsuccessfully persuades her to reveal the identity of the killer. Savithri is silent, still unable to overcome the ten years of bitterness between her and her husband. Meanwhile, a mysterious man (Prakash Raj) in Dheena's shelter repeatedly tries to speak with him, much to the latter's annoyance. Later, Dheena admits that he has sought shelter after killing a man responsible for his needy elder brother's death; he originally went to check if the man had any "remorse, regret or compassion", but was triggered by his insulting remarks on his dead brother. The mysterious man (now visible to the viewer as a reincarnation of the murdered man) declares himself to be the manifestation of all the hatred that Dheena has fostered against those who have hurt him since his early life. He further asks if, since he has been killed, Dheena has forgiven the others. He adds that Dheena hates his character, not his body; Dheena is still carrying him; till he gets rid of the latter, he will continue to be his shadow. He also asks Dheena to think what he would have done had he been in his shoes. Having said all this, he sings lines from the song "Manithan Enbavan Deivam Aagalam" ["A man can become God" - from the film Sumaithaangi]. Later, Dheena is sent to another destination, with the news that his wife and daughter will soon catch up with him. Over the phone, he makes a cryptic statement to Malli: "I don't know if what I've decided is right or wrong. I hope you'll understand. Later, Savithri leaves her house to visit the temple, despite opposition from a visiting relative (a reference to restrictions on Hindu widows). As she is praying at a spot in the temple complex, Dheena comes up to her and seeks her forgiveness for his deed. Savithri implies that her husband and Dheena could have better handled all the events leading up to the murder, and that her own non-interference in the final confrontation makes her guilty as well. She concludes that she has no right to forgive or punish Dheena.