Maari, the Tamil Dark Romance Hero

First of all, what does it mean to be a dark romance hero? 

In the simplest terms, he is usually a man with questionable morals. He might be violent, feared, unpredictable, possessive, or willing to cross lines that a conventional romantic hero would never cross. He is often morally grey, and sometimes, quite simply, a bad person who happens to be capable of love. Whatever form he takes, the dark romance hero is rarely the kind of man everyone around him feels safe with.

And then, there's Maari. I just rewatched Maari and Maari 2, and I ended up realizing that Maari is, in many ways, a stereotypical dark romance hero. He is over a decade old, and I grew up watching him long before I ever knew what dark romance was. 

First of all, Maari is a 'bad boy.' By that I mean someone with questionable ideals. He does not mind indulging in violence, even reveling in it. The people around him fear him. His reputation precedes him. He doesn't try to convince anyone that he's a good man. In fact, part of his appeal is that he doesn't care about being a good guy, and often says that he isn't a good guy. 

Yet, there is a woman who sees something beyond that reputation. This is another familiar element of dark romance. The woman's presence doesn't erase everything that makes the man dangerous, but love becomes a force that pushes him towards becoming someone better. 

You might be wondering why this is important, or that it's kind of obvious. Maari is a character I grew up watching, but haven't revisited in quite a while. The realisation made me see that I have been indulging in dark romance or morally gray characters for much longer than I knew, and I think that says something about my consumption pattern. Maybe my introduction to dark romance wasn't Damon Salvatore. Maybe it was Maari.