What Is the Story About?
Putham Pudhu Kaalai is an anthology comprising of five different short stories. They have common elements like love and ‘corona’. How various people are impacted at other points of time in the corona crisis is what is the movie all about?
Performances?
Performances?There are five different sets of actors in the movie, each doing what they are best at and selected appropriately. In terms of the ‘acting’ the seniors stand out across as the stories. Jayaram, Urvashi, M S Bhaskar, Suhasini, Anuradha Hasan, Charuhasan, Leela Samson are easily the best of the lot and effortless. They bring old-world charm and warmth to the proceedings with their presence. Also, each of them showcases different emotions. If Bhaskar is emotional, then Jayaram is playful. Similarly, the rest too have some variation, making them stand apart.
The young lot which comprises of names like Kalyani Priyadarshan, Kalidas Jayaram, Shruti Haasan, Ritu Varma, Andrea Jeremiah, Gurucharan, Bobby Simha and Sharath Ravi are ether adequate or do what they do best like Bobby Simha. A couple of them seem to be trying too hard, while a few are, as plain as they come despite best efforts.
Analysis
Top directors, Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon and Karthik Subbaraj handle the five different shorts. They all bear the trademarks of the director and if one is cued to them, they could easily make that put without looking at the credits.
Among the five the most difficult to pick out is the opening short featuring Sudha Kongara. The director is just a couple of films old to develop and signature of her own. Ilamai Idho Idho, is, therefore, something unexpected. The concept, fun and the music makes it a breezy watch.
The one with the most robust stamp of the director is Miracle. It is from Karthik Subbaraj, and one can understand it easily. It is also the only short where the theme is entirely different. It takes us to the slums of Chennai. The elements of suspense and fun are finely blended to make it a satisfying watch.
Avarum Naanum – Avalum Naanum from Gautham Vasudev Menon is another short with strong directorial imprint. The dialogues, music, setting and the presentation of the heroine, they all have the trademark. It is also the most emotional one of the five. The writing and performances from Bhaskar and Ritu make it an engaging watch.
The weakest two of the five are Reunion, and Coffee, Anyone? The former comes from Suhasini Maniratnam whereas the latter is by Rajiv Menon. Among the two, the latter is more disappointing considering any lack of surprise. The character of Leela Samson is another trademark creation of the director, but nothing much happens with it. The ‘singing out of the room’ bit is the best part. It instantly reminds one of the directors past work and at the same time is a fresh sequence.
Coffee, Anyone? is the weakest of all as it tries to do too much within a short. The ‘Munna Bhai’-Esque treatment of coma aside, there are so many things happening in it. Still, the seniors shine as performers and make one love them when they dance and exchange some dramatic conversations. It touches our heart with rousing background accompanying them. It would have been much better had it been less chaotic.
While individually, each episode is fine as a whole, the collective impact at the end is missing. A strong sense of common connection lacks despite the mention of ‘corona’ throughout.
Overall, Putham Pudhu Kaalai is a beautiful attempt at some relatable and well-acted stories during the covid-19 times. The presence of big names should be enough to give them a try. But, it is always assuring to know that they deliver and what we get is not a mere indulgent product of master filmmakers.
Music and Other Departments?
Just like the directors, the technical team of each short too comprises of significant names. GV Prakash, Govind Vasantha, Nivas K Prasanna, Sathish Raghunathan etc. do a fabulous job with the music. The cinematography by big names makes the anthology unique to look at visually. The writing is consistently good, on the whole.
Highlights?
Casting
Performances
Writing
Direction
Drawbacks?
A Feeling of Watching Random Episodes
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes
Putham Pudhu Kaalai Review by Binged Bureau
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