Hridayam 2022

Arun, Pranav Mohanlal a teenager from Kerala, moves to Chennai to study engineering at KCG Tech and finds love at first sight with Darshana, Darshana Rajendran a bright, alluring classmate who becomes the center of his world. Their budding romance is blindsided by a reckless impulsive moment: Arun accompanies his friend Antony, Aju Varghese, to meet his online girlfriend and ends up attracted to the girlfriend’s colleague. He lies about being single and leans in for a kiss, only to be halted by a moment of what he calls moral policing. The confrontation leaves Arun overwhelmed with guilt, and when he finally confesses to Darshana, her trust breaks—she ends the relationship in a blaze of anger and disappointment.

What follows is a difficult slide for Arun. Struggling with heartbreak, he channels his energy into rebellion, ragging younger students and drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He starts a tentative romance with Maya Padmanabhan, Annu Antony but the relationship never settles into genuine happiness. At home, his parents notice the changes in him, and his father urges him to quit alcohol and seek a steadier path. He signs up for a coaching group led by their classmate Selva, Kalesh Ramanand, and slowly begins rebuilding his study habits and confidence. Amid the turbulence, Darshana reconnects with her own life and spirits—though she eventually slips back into a relationship, with Kedar Naresh, Abishek Joseph George, whose true nature proves toxic. The revelations force another painful reckoning for Arun.

The losses stack up: Selva dies in a bus accident, and Maya ends things after the death of her father, realizing that Arun’s affections were not what she deserved. Yet Arun keeps moving, and the two years that pass begin to reshape him. He lands a modest job after a campus interview, only to realize it isn’t what he wants. The turning point comes when Darshana’s path diverges and Arun discovers a new vocation he hadn’t imagined—photography. A chance encounter with Jimmy, Aju Varghese a wedding photographer who ropes him into a partner role, jolts Arun into a fresh career path: they launch a company that specializes in intimate weddings. The venture quickly gains traction, buoyed by a shoutout from Prateek Tiwari, Jojo Jose a batchmate at KC Tech who has become a popular Bollywood singer, and their work starts drawing in a flood of bookings and eager couples.

As work flourishes, Arun encounters Nithya Balagopal, Kalyani Priyadarshan, and is immediately struck by his growing attraction. Nithya’s taste for his photography and her own warmth bring him back to life in ways he hadn’t anticipated. Their connection deepens quickly, and with the blessing of their families, they marry. Darshana attends the wedding reception but, unable to cope with the sense that Arun has moved on, she leaves in tears. Nithya later gives birth to a baby boy, and Arun shares the news with Darshana first. When asked to name the child, he chooses to honor Selva, the friend who touched his life so profoundly, naming the boy after him.

Darshana’s life continues on its own distinct course, and her marriage is ultimately fixed with someone else. The night of the engagement, Arun and Nithya make a quiet pilgrimage to the beach—the same place where Arun had once confessed his feelings. Darshana voices her worries about marriage and asks whether they would have stayed together if that earlier conflict hadn’t happened. Arun reflects on the better moments he shared with Nithya and Selva and reassures her that such moments will come for her as well. Eventually, Darshana marries, and Arun feels a quiet happiness, content with the life he’s built.

In a final, reflective gesture, Arun returns to KC Tech one last time on his way to the airport. He retrieves a key to the campus’s secret alley and pens a heartfelt thank-you note to the college for shaping who he has become. With that, he, Nithya, and Selva depart for home, carrying the lessons of the past into a future he now embodies with purpose, tenderness, and an earned sense of peace.