Alaipayuthey has a set of it's own problems like: Shakti (Shalini) is the one who's cooking after duty and all. Of course I missed all of it as a kid like I missed the fact about how Sethu (Vivek) is a green flag and Karthik (Madhavan) is THE red flag.
Back in the days, I thought Karthik was a dream. Although I didn't like boys stalking me in the name of romantic interest, I wasn't agitated by Karthik's behavior. All my classmates swooned over him anyway, and as a kid, the one thing you don't want is to be different. So, I went with the flow. Sethu? He was just there for comedy/character artist.
Disclaimer: I am not supporting the practice of marriages within family - don't do that. While Karthik stalks Shakti (Shakti low-key likes the stalking), as soon as Sethu learns that Shakti is disinterested in marrying him, he respectfully moves away and doesn't bring it up again. When his mother talks about making Shakti her daughter-in-law, Sethu tells her to keep quiet.
Sethu shows no bitterness at Shakti for rejecting him. She mocks his stutter when he comes to wish he all the best for her exam. He says, "Paravala (It's okay)" I hate Shakti for being ableist. And I wish Sethu defends himself even though he loves Shakti. Karthik might be perfect but he doesn't have a heart like Sethu's
Perhaps Sethu understands that he is “below Shakti's standards” and that the only “criteria” he has to marry her is being her cousin, he happily clears the way when Shakti gets an unexpected marriage proposal from America return Shyam (Karthik Kumar). He even says that he can only buy America map for Shakti, but Shyam will take her to America. He even depreciates himself and his mom by saying, “When good things happen, unhelpful people should step away.”
Despite the brevity in the role, Shyam is a green flag for his candor about the whole bride seeing situation - that "Na ok va... Ok illaya... (Am I ok for you? Or am I not ok for you?) has my whole heart.
Karthik is very filmy. And we like filmy shit to escape reality when we were younger - like a guy comes searching for us when we go out of town for an educational tour. As we mature and realize about life, we'd want a guy like Sethu who has the heart to forgive rather than bearing a grudge (ambala ego) like Karthik has at Shakti's father for slapping him.
We live in a world that's filled with people who embody, "What I didn't get, others shouldn't get too." Sethu breaks this by caring for Shakti till the end and I love him for it. My life stagnated for some years when I fell gravely ill - my cousins were all progressing. I can't expect the world to halt so I can catch up. So, I did what I could. Sethu is such a character - yes, Shakti didn't like him. She married a so called better guy. But Sethu holds no ill will for it. This is such a basic virtue but many lack it.
If there was a sequel to Alaipayuthey, I would like to see Sethu rewarded for his decency. By that, I don't mean marrying a "better" girl than Shakti. He could have undergone speech therapy and become a motivational speaker. Or, he could be an animal rescuer and has adopted children who think the world of him. That'd be a swell closure.
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