Wikipedia
Alaipayuthey is a 2000 Tamil romantic drama film directed by Mani Ratnam. Starring R. Madhavan and Shalini, the film explores the tensions of married life and the maturing of love. The score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman.
The film's story is mostly recollected in flashbacks by the character Karthik (Madhavan). Karthik and Shakthi (Shalini) fall in love against the backdrop of Chennai and its suburban trains, against the wishes of their parents. The film was well received by critics and it did well at the Tamil and Telugu box-offices primarily for its music and realistic portrayal of romance and married life.
The film made its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2001. It was shown at various film festivals nationally and internationally. It also carried a very popular soundtrack, composed by A. R. Rahman. Alaipayuthey was also released in Telugu as Sakhi and was later remade and released in Hindi cinema in 2002, as Saathiya, directed by Ratnam's former assistant Shaad Ali.
Alaipayuthey is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2000 Indian Tamil film of the same name. The soundtrack album consists of nine tracks in original Tamil and Hindi versions of the albums whereas the Telugu version of the album has seven tracks. The soundtrack of Alaipayuthey was unanimously hailed as a Mani Ratnam film soundtrack turning for rhythmic fusion using modern synthesizers. A film, initially planned with film score, the recording of the songs eventually took place. The original (Tamil version) and Hindi version of the soundtrack garnered positive critical reception.
The soundtrack was extremely well received by the audience and critics, and received a number of awards held in the subsequent year. The original soundtrack sold over six lakh cassettes, and A. R. Rahman won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 2001. The film score achieved cult status after the release of the film.