Well, I remember reading about this film, and how one person commented that those who didn't understand the Sri Lankan conflict wouldn't enjoy the film as much. Well, I saw it, and I thought it was great, and I'd like to know more about the background of the sri lankan conflict and its relation to the film. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Well, the Sri Lankan conflict is going on until today. Many people thought Mani Ratnam would address this issue earlier but hes taken this long to make a film about it.

In case people didnt know, 'Kannathil Muthamittal' is fourth in Mani Ratnam's 'Terrorism' series. It started with 'Roja' (which deals with the Kashmir conflict), then continued with 'Bombay' (the Hindu-Muslim riots), on with 'Dil Se' (Suicide bombers, more Kashmir-Pak themes), and now with KM, which in my opinion, is closer to the spirit of 'Roja' than any of his other movies.

The problem as understood, is this. The 'conflict' as such exists only between the Tamil residents of North Sri Lanka (Jaffna) and the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Tamil residents of North Sri Lanka are pretty much in a no mans' land - they are not accepted by Sri Lanka's residents (who speak Sinhalese, unlike the Sri Lankan tamils who speak very accented Tamil) - nor are they welcomed by the real Tamils in Tamilnadu. Caught in a small region that no one wants them to be in, they often get on boats and arrive as refugees in Tamilnadu, very often they are turned around, but most often they come into India and set up a new life there. Unfortuantely, the Sri Lankan militancy does not approve of these Sri Lankan Tamils and do everything they can to make them miserable. This conflict has been excellently brought out in KM. Remember though, that even though the area of land they live in is small, the number of people are in the millions, and they literally have no place on earth, under law. This is what leads to their frustration. Usually they take it out on the Sri Lankan government via suicide bombers, or they just pack up and leave (both are shown beautifully in KM). In the end, though, its a crisis without a solution. Its been going on for years.