Kanam

<p>On 28 March 1998, scientists Paul and Michael carry out an experiment on their time machine, however, the machine fails and Michael dies in the process. In 2019, Adhi, Chaitanya “Chaitu” (Telugu)/Kathir (Tamil) and Seenu (Telugu)/Paandi (Tamil) are friends who are struggling in their lives. Adhi is an aspiring musician and Seenu/Paandi regrets not studying properly during his school days. One day, Paul calls Seenu/Paandi, who is a real estate agent, to find him in a house on the outskirts. Seenu/Paandi takes Adhi and Chaitu/Kathir along to show Paul the house. However, Adhi is surprised to see the boxes dated 28-03-1998 which was a day before his mother died. Paul overhears this and convinces Adhi that he can save his mother using the time machine, in return, Adhi must save Michael from death by stopping the experiment. Chaitu/Kathir and Seenu/Paandi tag along to change their own fate. They place the time machine in the abandoned house of Seenu’s/Paandi’s grandfather. Paul explains to them the rules of time travel. The date is set to 1 March 1998 and the three travel back in time. They see their younger selves in their school and disguise themselves to get close to them. Adhi befriends his mother and becomes the guitar teacher for his younger self, nicknamed Kutlu. Adhi tries to make sure that his mother is safe who is set to die in a car accident. Chaitu/Kathir becomes an auto driver to bring his younger self close to Sita who grows up to be a beautiful woman while Seenu/Paandi joins as a peon to personally oversee his younger self’s education. Kutlu prepares to participate in his school’s cultural competition on 26 March 1998. Adhi’s mother drops Kutlu off at his school that morning. She gives him her ring to be confident during his performance. However, young Chaitu/Kathir and Seenu/Paandi suspect and follow their older selves, and find the time machine. They inform Kutlu about this and the three leave the school without any intimation. The time machine turns on upon scanning Kutlu’s iris (which is the same as Adhi’s). The machine brings the kids to the future in 2019. The older three realize their younger selves are missing along with the time machine which also contains the details of Paul of 1998. They realize that the only way to set things right is to find Paul and use his old time machine to travel to 2019. Meanwhile, the police file a kidnapping case to find the missing kids and treat older Chaitu/Kathir and Seenu/Paandi as suspects. Adhi’s mother goes into depression, therefore, Adhi promises her to bring back her son. The older three try to find Paul, but were in vain. Upon realizing that they arrived in the future, the younger three aimlessly roam the city to seek help until Adhi’s girlfriend Vaishnavi finds them. She is shocked to realize they are younger Adhi, Chaitu/Kathir and Seenu/Paandi. Paul explains everything to Vaishnavi and says that he needs a day to reset the time machine to send the kids back. Kutlu overhears that his mother is going to die. The three escape and learn the truth. On 28 March 1998, the older three accidentally come across Michael but are chased by the police. They find the old time machine and plead with Paul to turn it off. Michael goes ahead anyway and dies in the accident. The police take everyone into custody but Adhi escapes the following day to save his mother. Adhi finds his mother on the road as her car broke down. He tries to convince her to get back to safety but as she refuses, Adhi confesses that he is her son. However, Adhi’s mother dies after she is hit by a truck. The older three contemplate that it is pointless to try changing the past. Adhi is content that he is able to spend time with his mother again. Meanwhile, Paul sends the kids back in time. The older three advise the younger three to be themselves and enjoy every moment of life. The older three restart their lives in the present with new vigour. In 2017, short filmmaker signed up an untitled film which would mark his directorial debut with ‘s . Karthik initially pitched a budget of 4–5 , however, Prabhu felt that the film deserved a bigger scale and asked Karthik to make it as a Tamil–Telugu bilingual as he knew both the languages. Karthick stated that the film echoed his relationship with his mother. The film’s Telugu title was unveiled as in June 2021. The Tamil version was titled as in September of that year. The film marks ‘s return to after 31 years and to after 8 years, and also marks Sharwanand’s comeback to cinema after . In August 2019, and were paired opposite each other while was cast in a crucial role. In November 2019, veteran actress was signed to play the protagonist’s mother. was then signed to write the Telugu dialogues, while was signed to compose the film’s music. The cinematography was to be handled by and the editing was assigned to Sreejith Sarang. Filming took place in and . The filming was halted in March 2021 due to the . The shoot resumed after 8 months with the final schedule taking place in and wrapped up in November 2020. The music for the film has been composed by . The film’s first single, was released in January 2022. The lyrics to the song were written by for the Telugu version and is believed to be one of his last songs, before his demise. The second single from the bilingual, (Telugu) and (Tamil) was released in August 2022. Later that month, the third single (Telugu) and (Tamil) released. The song featured the vocals of , marking his Telugu singing debut. The film was released on 9 September 2022, after a long delay due to the Covid pandemic. Earlier in November 2021, the film was announced to be released in February 2022. However, it was reportedly delayed due to the upsurge in the cases. This film has received a . The digital streaming rights of the film were sold to . The film began streaming on 20 October 2022 on . and received positive reviews from critics. Reviewing the Telugu version, a critic for rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “The film’s narrative could be categorised as a slow burn. While the first half was entertaining and engaging with a brilliant interval twist, the second half initially could have been crispier with the mother and son sentiment”. Reviewing the Tamil version, M.Suganth of gave the film the same rating and wrote that “But the filmmaker never gets distracted from what he’s truly after – the emotional bond between a mother and her son – and it is this angle that drives the plot”. Writing for , Priyanka Sundar too gave a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and stated: “Sharwanand, Amala Akkineni-starrer is a beautiful tale about healing from grief”. Janani K of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “Kanam evokes nostalgia as it takes us back to the 90s. Watch Kanam for its simplicity”. Arvind V of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “While the film doesn’t offer magical surrealism, its themes make up for the shortcoming”. rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and termed it as a “bumpy ride”. A critic for wrote “Shree Karthick’s narrative is unique, and the conflicts he selects for each of the buddies appear to be well-chosen”. Balakrishna Ganeshan of rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is a time-travel film, it steers clear of the science – it does not focus on the theories of time-travel or quantum physics or the concepts of time and space. Rather, it is a film about human emotions”. Bhuvanesh Chandar of stated “A delightful debut for director Shree Karthick, who gives us a compelling film that is also an endearing tribute to his late mother”. A critic for gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “Solid performances and simple writing makes Kanam a film to be cherished.” In its first weekend, the film has collected a total gross of $330K at the United States box-office. As of 19 September 2022, the film has collected a total gross of $511K at the United States box-office, thus making it the third highest-grossing film for Sharwanand in the region, after (2017) and (2017).</p>