Kudos to the director for taking up this theme - in his line of themes about marginalized ppl in conflict ridden societies. It is similar to 'Dil se' in treatment. It doesn't delve deep for quite long and seems to focus equally on another theme (parent-child relationship in this, love in 'Dil..'). I am not sure if not showing the problem in depth - e.g no real conflict between srilankans and tamils is shown: how do they treat each other, feel about each other ..etc - makes it more accessible?

This movie won 5 national awards and once again reinforced Manirathnam's stature as one of the best directors in India .