Waves are flowing), is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam, starring R. Madhavan and Shalini.

The film explores the tensions of married life between two young people who elope and the maturing of love among urban Indians who are conflicted between tradition and modernity.

The film's story is mostly recollected in flashbacks by Karthik (Madhavan), on how he and Shakthi (Shalini) fall in love against the backdrop of Chennai and its suburban trains, against the wishes of their parents.

Karthik Varadarajan is an independent and free-spirited software engineering graduate from a wealthy family who owns a startup along with his friends.

Karthik waits for her, and as she fails to turn up, he searches desperately for her throughout the city, ultimately discovering her in the ICU of a hospital.

Madhavan had done a sandalwood talc ad for Santosh Sivan in 1996 and the veteran cinematographer gave photographs of the actor to Mani Ratnam during the casting process of Iruvar.

The director had made Madhavan audition for a role in the film but turned him down citing that "he thought his eyes were too young" and assured "that they would work together some other time".

[4] Swarnamalya was selected to play the role of Poorni after the director spotted her on a television show and subsequently asked her to screen test for the film.

[5] Theatre actor, Karthik Kumar of Evam, also marked his film debut with a minor supporting role as a potential suitor to Shakti.

[6] Prior to the release of his breakthrough film Sethu (1999), Vikram was approached by Mani Ratnam to play the role of Swarnamalya's fiancé but turned down the offer.

After considering either Shah Rukh Khan, Mammootty ,or Mohanlal, Mani Ratnam signed Arvind Swamy to play another role, with Alai Payuthey becoming the pair's fourth production together.

[13] P. C. Sreeram renewed his collaboration with Mani Ratnam after seven years, with the director toggling between Santosh Sivan and Rajiv Menon for his other projects.

During the first seven days of the shoot, Mani Ratnam filmed portions featuring Shalini and made Madhavan stay on the sets and watch his process of film-making.

The song sequences Evano Oruvan, and September Matham was shot at Western Plywood Guesthouse and the Dharmadam Island respectively.

[18] "Evano Oruvan" was shot at Kannur as the song sequence demanded rain and the crew had to wait for many days for monsoon to shoot.

[21] A "meet the stars" publicity event was held at Music World in Spencer Plaza in March 2000, with the gathering being described as a success.

[5] About the production process, Madhavan revealed that he learnt about the technical aspects of film-making from the director and mentioned that he even learned the entire script of the film, irrespective of whether he was in the scene or not, claiming that working with Mani Ratnam inspires that sort of involvement and dedication.

Upon release, the album met with widespread critical acclaim, selling over six lakh cassettes, and went on to win the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 2000.

In regard to performances, the critic mentions that Madhavan "looks pleasant and handsome and does his job splendidly until the end, where he looks totally lost in the most crucial scene" and that Shalini "is very beautiful but not as open as she used to be as a child star".

[30] Krishna Chidambaram of Kalki praised the performances of Shalini and Madhavan while also appreciating the cameos of Aravind Swamy and Kushboo and also for showing post-marriage friction beautifully.

Swarnamalya also received several film offers after her critically acclaimed performance, but consecutive failures of eight of her ten movies since failed to catapult her into the leading bracket of actors.

[43] Gautham Vasudev Menon revealed that the scene prior to the song "Evano Oruvan" was "almost straight out of real life" and that he "tried to incorporate such moments" in his films.