Dasharatham

Rajiv Menon is born into extreme wealth and becomes an alcoholic playboy with no clear aim in life. With no parents to guide him, the family business is run by a trusted manager, Pillai, allowing Rajiv to fritter away his fortune on debauchery. His world of luxury leaves him detached from responsibility or long-term plans.

Scariah and his wife and children stay at Rajiv's mansion for a week. Rajiv forms a bond with Scariah's child, which seeds a desire for having a child of his own, though he rejects marriage and adoption as options. The experience destabilizes his carefree existence in surprising ways.

Dr. Hameed counsels Rajiv to consider surrogacy as a route to fatherhood. They begin the search for a suitable surrogate and discuss the logistics. The idea challenges Rajiv to reconceptualize family, control, and responsibility.

They find Chandradas, a former footballer, who needs money for an operation, and his wife Annie agrees to carry the baby. Both Chandradas and Annie are not happy about the arrangement, but financial desperation makes it feasible. The couple's consent marks the first practical step toward Rajiv's wish for a child.

Annie wants to get through the nine-month pregnancy and hand over the baby with minimal attachment. In contrast, Rajiv, usually rash, is increasingly determined and begins to study pregnancy, childbirth, and the conditions needed for a healthy birth. The plan's emotional stakes begin to rise as both lives intertwine.

Rajiv commits to creating a cheerful, supportive atmosphere for Annie, surrounding her with nurses and a nutritious diet. He devotes himself to learning about pregnancy and becoming a responsible potential father. The change signals a shift from a carefree playboy to someone capable of care.

As the months pass, Rajiv becomes deeply invested in the baby's health and the outcome of the pregnancy. He monitors nutrition, environment, and comfort to ensure a healthy birth. The mounting anticipation highlights the emotional toll of the surrogate arrangement.

The baby is born and Rajiv reluctantly hands over the child to Annie. The act is heavy with emotion as Rajiv confronts the reality that his dream has become someone else's responsibility. Annie's own feelings about the baby begin to complicate the situation.

Annie becomes emotionally attached to the life within her womb and to the baby she has carried. She refuses to part with the child and begins to act in ways that reveal her growing selfishness. The surrogacy arrangement spirals into a moral tension between motherly instincts and ownership.

Rajiv hands over the child to Annie very reluctantly, acknowledging the emotional complexity of the situation. He is deeply unsettled as he watches his plan for fatherhood collide with Annie's attachment. The moment marks a painful turning point in his understanding of family.

In the final scene, Rajiv asks Maggie whether every mother can love a child as her own. Maggie is dumbfounded by the question, confronting the difference between his imagined parenthood and real maternal bonds. Rajiv walks away in tears, unable to find a simple answer.