# Alai Payuthey (அலைபாயுதே)
**Alai Payuthey** (அலைபாயுதே, also spelled Alaipayuthey) is a 2000 Indian Tamil romantic drama film written, co-produced and directed by [Mani Ratnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/mani-ratnam), starring [R. Madhavan](https://www.edgepedia.org/r-madhavan) and Shalini as a young Chennai couple who marry against their families' wishes and then confront the realities of married life.[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3917/2000-alaipayuthey) The score and soundtrack were composed by [A. R. Rahman](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-r-rahman), with cinematography by P. C. Sreeram and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad.[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 14 April 2000 (Tamil New Year), India; some databases list 6 March 2000[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3917/2000-alaipayuthey) • [3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/alai-payuthey/) |
| Runtime and rating | 2 hours 36 minutes (156 minutes); certified U in India[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3917/2000-alaipayuthey) • [2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) |
| Leads | R. Madhavan as Karthik, Shalini as Shakti; Swarnamalya as Poorni[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3917/2000-alaipayuthey) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/waves) |
| Music | A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Vairamuthu; nine songs recorded after the film was first planned as songless[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) • [5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) |
| Production | Madras Talkies; producers Mani Ratnam and G. Srinivasan[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) • [6](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/1291/tamil/alaipayuthe/index.htm) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 8.3/10 from about 9,100 users; Filmfare Award for Best Music Director (Tamil), 2001[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242256/) • [8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/alai-payuthey/2000304126/) |
| Afterlife | Dubbed in Telugu as *Sakhi*; remade in Hindi as *Saathiya* (2002)[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and structure
Karthik (Madhavan) is a software engineering graduate from a wealthy family who runs a startup with his friends; Shakti (Shalini) is a medical student from a middle-class family.[9](https://www.ijsred.com/volume7/issue1/IJSRED-V7I1P75.pdf) The two meet at a wedding and again on the suburban commuter trains they both use, and fall in love.[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) When Karthik's lawyer father Varadarajan (Pyramid Natarajan) meets Shakti's father Selvaraj (Raviprakash), a railways employee, the two families disagree and the engagement collapses.[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey)
The couple marry secretly with the help of friends and Shakti's older sister Poorni (Swarnamalya), continuing to live with their parents until the secret comes out and both are thrown out of their homes.[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) They move into a partially constructed apartment, and the film's second half follows the frictions of their marriage: arguments, Karthik's preoccupation with work, Shakti's suspicion of an affair, and the guilt that follows the death of her father, whom Karthik declined to visit in hospital.[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) The frame narrative opens with Karthik waiting at a railway station for Shakti, who does not arrive; the story unfolds in flashbacks between the present and the past, and resolves after Shakti is struck by a car and hospitalized, with the couple reconciled at her bedside.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2000/apr/15alai.htm) • [2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey)
## Production
Mani Ratnam wanted a debutant in the female lead and screen-tested [Vasundhara Das](https://www.edgepedia.org/vasundhara-das), but signed Shalini in April 1999.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) Madhavan, then unknown in [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema), was cast after Ratnam called him in 1999 to arrange a photo session and told him he was starting a film with him.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) Vikram, before *[Sethu](https://www.edgepedia.org/sethu-film)* (1999) made him a star, was approached to play the fiancé of Swarnamalya's character but turned the offer down.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000)
Over a 25-day schedule, the team filmed in Srinagar, and owing to the [Kashmir conflict](https://www.edgepedia.org/kashmir-conflict) no other production would shoot there again until 2003, making them the final unit to do so.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) A. R. Rahman was initially signed only to compose the background score, because the film was first planned as songless; after a change of heart, nine songs were recorded.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000)
## Music
Every song on the soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by [Vairamuthu](https://www.edgepedia.org/vairamuthu), except the title number "Alai Payuthey", an 18th-century piece by the Carnatic composer Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi set to the raagam Kanada.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) The album includes "Endrendrum Punnagai", "Pachchai Nirame", "Kadhal Sadugudu", "Evano Oruvan", "Snehithane Snehithane", "Yaro Yarodi", "September Madham", and "Mangalyam", released on Saregama India Limited.[2](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey) The soundtrack became a commercial success with over six lakh cassette sales, and Rahman won the [Filmfare Award for Best Music Director](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-music-director) (Tamil) for it in 2001.[11](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65783498/) • [8](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/alai-payuthey/2000304126/)
## Reception and legacy
The film received largely positive reviews and strong audience reception, and later gained cult status among Indian romantic dramas; it also screened internationally at the [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival).[11](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65783498/) *India Today* described it as a mellow love story that steered clear of the flag-waving sentimentality of Ratnam's earlier three films.[12](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/20000501-movie-reviews-of-alaipayuthey-stuart-little-and-uttara-779327-2000-04-30) The Hollywood Reporter India, in a retrospective ranking of the best Indian films of the 21st century, credited the film with redefining how romantic leads were characterized in Kollywood and how love stories were written for the following two and a half decades.[13](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/amp/story/features/insight/how-mani-ratnams-alaipayuthey-changed-the-language-of-romance-in-tamil-films-forever)
Its influence extended through remakes and titles. It was dubbed in Telugu as *Sakhi* and remade in Hindi by [Shaad Ali](https://www.edgepedia.org/shaad-ali) as *Saathiya* (2002), the first time Mani Ratnam sold remake rights for another language, having previously dubbed and released his films himself.[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) Songs from the soundtrack inspired the titles of six later films: *Snegithiye* (2000), *Kadhal Sadugudu* (2003), *Evano Oruvan* (2007), *Pachai Nirame* (2008), *Ragasiya Snehithane* (2008), and *Endrendrum Punnagai* (2013).[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000) The film remains available on streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video in India.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/waves)
## References
1. [Alaipayuthey (2000), TamilMDb](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/3917/2000-alaipayuthey)
2. [Alai Payuthey, Moviebuff](https://www.moviebuff.com/alai-payuthey)
3. [Alai Payuthey, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/alai-payuthey/)
4. [Alaipayuthey streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/waves)
5. [Alaipayuthey trivia, NetflixMovies](https://www.netflixmovies.com/alaipayuthey-2000)
6. [Alaipayuthey, Nowrunning](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/1291/tamil/alaipayuthe/index.htm)
7. [Alai Payuthey (2000), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242256/)
8. [Alai Payuthey, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/alai-payuthey/2000304126/)
9. [Nation-state in Alaipayuthey, IJSRED](https://www.ijsred.com/volume7/issue1/IJSRED-V7I1P75.pdf)
10. [The Alai Payuthe review, Rediff](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2000/apr/15alai.htm)
11. [Alai Payuthey (2000) by Mani Ratnam Film Review, IMDb News / AsianMoviePulse](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65783498/)
12. [Movie reviews of Alaipayuthey, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/20000501-movie-reviews-of-alaipayuthey-stuart-little-and-uttara-779327-2000-04-30)
13. [How 'Alaipayuthey' Changed The Language of Romance in Tamil Films Forever, The Hollywood Reporter India](https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/amp/story/features/insight/how-mani-ratnams-alaipayuthey-changed-the-language-of-romance-in-tamil-films-forever)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2000s › Tamil films of the early 2000s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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