‘Mental Manadhil’ play takes humorous dig at marriage myths

Chennai: A new Tamil play is holding up a mirror to modern matrimony with laughs and a message. Mental Manadhil, presented by ThRee entertains, was recently staged at Krishna Gana Sabha after its inauguration in Kolkata.

Conceptualized and directed by M.V. Bhaskar, with story and dialogues by V. Sreevathson, the play follows Sundar, played by Prabhu, and Divya, played by Priya Kannamma. The young couple is in love but clashes over what a marriage should look like.

Sundar wants to avoid becoming a dominating husband like he believes his father Mohan Ram, played by K. Subramaniam, to be. Divya wants a husband like her father Subbu, played by Bhaskar, who always defers to his wife’s opinion. She thinks her parents are the ideal couple.

The play flips those assumptions. Mohan Ram is not dominating, and his wife Padma, played by Lavanya Venugopal, is not meek. They are happy together. Subbu, who pretends his wife’s views are his own to keep the peace, is miserable.

Divya expects Sundar to mirror her every interest and opinion, believing couples must have identical tastes. Sundar goes along at first but eventually calls off the wedding, unable to keep up the act. Padma steps in to show Divya that successful marriages run on shared humor and patience, not identical interests.

Mental Manadhil uses comedy to question surface-level ideas about relationships and what makes a partnership work.