Tender are the Feet 1972

Owner of the theater group, Aung Soe, leads a Rangoon-based traditional Burmese dance troupe that cherishes music, art, and cultural heritage with quiet, enduring devotion.

Sein Lin, [Zaw Lwin], is the troupe’s passionate drummer, whose love for Burmese rhythm fuels every performance. He grows frustrated when, in his view, a dancer dances against the beat, and he ends up turning his back on his own company to seek a new path with another troupe.

That new chapter brings him to an encounter with the dancer San San Aye, who embodies Khin San. Though she is initially affronted by Sein Lin’s teachings, they cannot deny their growing attraction, and their arguments only sharpen the pull between them.

To mark the difference between tradition and modern ambition, Sein Lin gives Khin San a small carved figure—a keepsake and symbol of traditional theater—and tells her to return it only when she is certain she wants to stay in film, not just act on impulse.

After her first cinema successes, she considers marriage to producer Hla Tun, played by Aung Pyae. Khin San ultimately returns the figure to the heartbroken Sein Lin, signaling a pause in their relationship as life takes them in different directions.

Yet the story takes a further turn when Khin San realizes that Hla Tun has been keeping something significant from her, prompting her to return to her traveling theater group and face the truth of her choices alongside Sein Lin and the troupe.

Across these events, the tale unfolds in a world where tradition, art, and personal desire collide, illustrating how love, pride, and cultural heritage intertwine in Rangoon’s theatre scene.