Akshay Sundher’s fourth episode in Modern Love Chennai, titled “Margazhi,” which is what the month of December is called in Tamil, takes the viewers through the journey of first love. A young girl and boy’s romance and how that love transforms them.
Spoilers Ahead
Modern Love Chennai Episode 4 begins with Jazmine being asked to come to a lawyer’s room. The lawyer informs her that her parents’ divorce is final, and because she is in her late teens, she can choose to be with her mother or her father. Jazmine’s mind is blank because she is upset beyond words, and she is not sure who she should go with. Choosing between the two would destroy her relationship with the person she did not choose to live with, and she is not ready to give up on either of them.
The shot moves to a church where Jazmine and her father are attending a Mass. It is assumed that Jayaseelan, her father, is the person she chose to be with. Jayaseelan lets the priest at the church know that her mother does not want to live with Jazmine. Jayaseelan, though, is happy to have his daughter living with him. His only concern is the girl, who used to be vivacious and always happy, but since the divorce has suddenly become quiet and aloof. She only spends her days listening to songs and does not talk that much with anyone, including her friends. Her father wants to help Jazmine come out of this phase and get over the tragedy of her parents’ divorce. Jazmine’s state of mind is justified because, as a girl as young as she was, witnessing the separation followed by divorce would have an impact on her. She had grown up watching her parents together and in love, and suddenly they were estranged and divorced. Jazmine becomes aloof because of the pain of losing her parents. The church’s priest offers to enroll her in the church choir so that she could come for practice often and won’t have to spend her days feeling alone. Being a part of the choir would mean she would be in touch with kids her age.
Jazmine joins the choir group, and her father starts keyboard classes at their home. On her first day at the choir, she sees Milton, the boy who is the grandson of a local couple living nearby and has come down to Chennai from Delhi. Milton is glad to be joining the group; all the girls in it are fascinated by this boy’s good looks. Jazmine is also attracted to him, but she does not let her feelings be obvious. At every choir practice, she looks for him, and he shows up, which makes her heart beat faster. One day Milton does not come for choir practice, which is followed by many more practice sessions. This irks her and makes her a little bit anxious. This proves that Jazmine likes the boy, and she wants to see him every day. She wonders if Milton left town. If he has, she will regret the fact that she never got to talk to him outside of choir practice. She reached home from practice one day to see Milton, learning the keyboard from her father. She is excited to see him in her house and feels reassured to see him in town, given that he notices her. Some stolen glances and smiles are proof that Jazmine likes the boy and Milton also likes her.
Why Does Milton Confess His Love For Jazmine?
Jazmine’s crush on him leads to her having a dream about him where she is surrounded by blue and white light, and he comes forward to kiss her. She also senses the same blue and white light whenever she sees Milton at church or at her place because the light is a representation of the feelings she has for the boy. Though they have not spoken to each other yet, she knows she likes him. One of the days after choir practice, she defeats him in the game of basketball, and they bond over the game. Ever since then, they both started to converse with each other and soon it became easy to be around him. There is no tension between the two. Milton finally asks Jazmine out to join him for a bike ride, and without any hesitation, Jazmine agrees to it, and they head towards a hilltop.
Jazmine is elated to be hanging out with him because this is what she has been wanting—to spend some time with the guy she likes. As she gets to know him more, she likes him even more. Milton reveals that his parents are divorced as well, and he misses being around his whole extended family without any fights or discord. Jazmine understands his situation and predicament because she has also been through something like that recently. They both head to his home after it starts raining heavily. At home, he comes to know that Jazmine is a good singer and a fantastic keyboard player as well. He is impressed by her modesty and lack of vanity, which come off as very attractive. Jazmine, too, finds the boy grounded and welcoming, and she appreciates the fact that he let her into his world so smoothly. Milton introduces his father’s mix tape, which contains all the songs from the 1970s. The kids love the old nostalgic songs, and they bond over them. Finally, Jazmine and Milton have a common ground to understand the attraction they feel towards each other, and they start hanging out more than before. Jazmine smiles in his presence, which has been a rare sight since the divorce of her parents. Milton, too, feels comfortable in her presence. There is a lot of love they lost out on because of the divorce of their parents, and they try to forget that pain by being in each other’s company, listening to songs, and playing the keyboard. Jazmine also reveals that her mother was the one who taught her and her father how to play the keyboard. The keyboard is a part of her life that she does not go back to as much as she revisits singing in the choir. Maybe playing the keyboard reminded her of her mother, and that is why it was difficult for her to pick the instrument.
Milton lets her know that he and his family are moving back to Delhi, and they are taking his grandmother with them as well. Milton is not sure if he will be coming back, and even if he does, he doesn’t know when. Jazmine was not upset by this news; she knew this was coming. The boy had to leave eventually. Milton confesses that he loves her. Jazmine feels shy, but she is happy to see him confess his love for her. He asks her if she will remember him. Jazmine boldly replies that she will never forget him. Jazmine has never felt this confident in anyone else’s presence. It is the love she has for him that makes her feel good about herself. She asks him what about her he likes the most. Milton goes on to say that she plays the keyboard beautifully and sings beautifully as well; he likes that she is a better basketball player, and he likes the fact that she never tried to get his attention. He was attracted to her the day he saw her with her father, busy in her whole world, listening to the songs that she liked. Jazmine feels overwhelmed by his words, and she finally kisses him. The two finally embrace the fact that they are each other’s first love, and it will be difficult to forget each other. Milton is attracted to the fact that she is into music as much as he is, and Jazmine loves the fact that he loves her for who she is. At the end of Modern Love Chennai Episode 4, Jazmine comes back home with a smile on her face and is content with the way her first love turned out. Milton happens to be a good person, and she will never forget him. There is no surety if he will ever come back for the love they shared, but they ended in such a way that they both would have good memories of this relationship they shared for a short time. First loves are hard to forget, but, in this case, it is for a good reason.
Final Thoughts
Akhil Sunder’s direction and Balaji Tharaneetharan’s story have nostalgia written all over them. The story is simple and not too convoluted. All of us must have had a simple first love like that; and the story comes out beautifully on paper and onto the screen. Modern Love Chennai Episode 4 is a slow burner but feels a bit long. The viewers will have to show some patience and hang on to watch the love that is portrayed between the two innocent school-going kids. As uncorrupted as their minds are, it is amazing to see such pristine love on screen. Jazmine and Milton’s separation was inevitable, and its execution on screen was excellent. It is not clear in which decade this story is set because one never gets to see any smartphones or other gadgets of this era. Meanwhile, we get to see Jazmine listening to her favorite song on her MP3 player. Maybe it is set in the late 1990s or early 2000s.
The aesthetics of the entire episode send out the 90s-2000s vibes. The production design for this show is excellent. It stands out just like the good direction, performances, and music. The overall nostalgic factor of Ilaiyaraaja music looms over the episode, which is fantastic, in my opinion. Ilaiyaraaja is the composer for Modern Love Chennai Episode 4, which also makes it more enticing and filled with love. Sanjula Sarathi, as Jazmine, conveys so much just through her eyes, and it is more than enough to understand the turmoil she is going through and the love that is in its beginning stages. Chu Khoy Sheng as Milton comes across the boy next door that anyone would like to hang out with. The overall excitement of experiencing first love is well developed through the story and the screenplay, and it grows on you as Modern Love Chennai Episode 4 moves forward. Excellent writing, followed by great direction and cinematography. Margazhi is an exceptional watch.
