Director Ram on Modern Relationships, Love, Freedom & Why the New Generation Sees Relationships Differently | The Gobinath Podcast

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What does it really mean to see people, life and cinema beyond the labels society gives us ?In this candid and thought-provoking conversation, director Ram opens up about his 20-year journey in Tamil cinema, the ideas and experiences that have shaped his filmmaking, his approach to human characters, and the way he looks at life, relationships and society.Ram speaks openly about the importance of “unlearning” as we grow and evolve. He reflects on how our understanding of love, relationships, gender and society changes with time, and why letting go of old beliefs can be just as important as learning something new.The conversation also explores why Ram refuses to categorise people as simply “good” or “bad.” He explains why his characters are often ordinary, flawed, insecure, lonely or misunderstood, and why he believes these are not necessarily “flawed” people, but natural human beings. He shares his fascination with the lives of people who are rarely noticed or represented in mainstream cinema, and why every person has a story worth understanding.Ram revisits some of the central ideas behind his films, including Kattradhu Thamizh, Thanga Meenkal, Taramani, Peranbu, Parandhu Po and Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai. He discusses alienation, learning disabilities, relationships, urban loneliness, parenting, marginalised lives and the different worlds he tries to explore through each film.He also speaks about the relationship between anger, love and affection for society. Ram explains why he consciously avoids self-pity and excessive melodrama in his writing, and why he wants his characters to experience pain, conflict and struggle without being presented as objects of pity.The conversation moves into men, women and modern relationships as well. Ram shares why he has little interest in portraying “alpha males,” why insecurity and vulnerability are closer to the reality of ordinary men, and how the women in his own life have influenced the way he writes female characters. He also reflects on how the younger generation is approac