Putham Pudhu Kaalai

<p>The five short films of talk about hope, love, and new beginnings in the . It’s a breezy love between two senior citizens. Rajeev ( ), a widower, lives in a big apartment all alone. Just before the Indian Government announces a lockdown in India, his girlfriend Lakshmi ( ), arrives at his home to spend a few days with him. They catch up and spend more time together when the lockdown is announced. Their respective children, unaware of their relationship, are worried about their safety during the pandemic while they get to know each other better like a young couple ( / ). One day during a petty argument between the couple, Rajeev’s daughter and son-in-law show up unannounced to check up on him. Lakshmi hides in a closet and witnesses Rajeev and his daughter sharing a warm moment together. When Rajeev finally manages to get rid of his daughter and son-in-law, the couple realize that they were both at fault for getting mad over something petty. Their bond grows deeper, and they express concern over how their kids will react to their relationship. The film ends with the couple taking the leap to introduce each other to their children over a video call. It is a building of a bond between an old grandfather ( ) and an estranged granddaughter ( ). It is very beautiful, as they get past the differences between them and understand each other better. The grandfather is a retired scientist and living alone. His granddaughter Khanna, who works in the IT industry, comes to take care of her grandfather on the insistence of her father. Initially, Khanna was not happy with her grandfather as he did not accept her mother’s love. Once Khanna starts spending time with her grandfather, she understands the reason for his anger (he wanted her mother to continue her singing as he considered her voice to be divine, but her mother chose to get married and discontiue the path due to her husbands insistence instead, thus causing the estrangement) and decides to visit her grandfather’s house regularly. Two daughters, Valli ( ) and Saras ( ) are visiting their comatose mother Soundara (Komalam Charuhasan). They are upset about their father Mahendran ( ) treating her at home and the fact that their younger sister Ramya ( ) has decided not to come meet their mother over past fights. Yet they overcome their differences and try to emotionally connect with their mother. That is when they realize that she is showing signs of improvement. They want to share all that is happening in their respective lives to her. Finally, they are more than happy to see their mother awake. Sadhana ( ) and Vikram ( ) are school friends who share a passion for music. In the present day, Vikram is a doctor, while Sadhana follows her childhood passion and has an event management company. Due to the lockdown, Sadhana is forced to spend some time with Vikram and his mother Bhairavi ( ) at their house, and she gets especially close to Bhairavi. It is later revealed that Sadhana is struggling from a drug addiction which she believes helps her with creating music. Vikram and his mother help her through this phase, and she later decides to seek help from a professional to deal with her addiction. In the closing scene, Vikram admits that the poetry he wrote back in college was not for his then girlfriend, but for Sadhana. A young filmmaker, Michael (Vettai Muthukumar), watches a Guruji (Ezhil Arasan Babaraj) on the television. Two poor thugs, Devan ( ) and Rocky (Sharath Ravi), want to make quick money by believing in the miracle that the Baba talks about. The story of the three intervenes to a funny climax where the thugs remain poor, Michael finds a lot of money to make his film, and the Guruji loses a few millions. On 30 September 2020, , had announced the film, which features five segments by five different directors from Tamil film industry. The title of the film is based on the song of the same name from (1981), whereas the titles for the segments and were based on the songs from (1982) and (2016). The film was shot in compliance with rules and regulations set by the (FEFSI) for filming during the “Unlock” phase. The film’s were composed by , , Satish Raghunathan and , whereas the for the film were composed by Kumar and Vasantha respectively. The title track of the film, sung by G. V. Prakash with lyrics by , was served as the film’s lead single. It was launched by actor , on 7 October 2020, along with the film’s soundtrack album. The album features six songs including the title track, with one song composed by Govind Vasantha, and rest of the songs were composed by G. V. Prakash; the lyrics for the songs were written by Kaber Vasuki and and the vocals were rendered by Prakash, , and . was released through on 16 October 2020. M. Suganth of gave 3 out of 5 stars stating ” doesn’t leave you with the heady feel-goodness of , with parts working better than the whole, but still, it is a step in the right direction for anthologies in Tamil cinema.” Srinivasa Ramanujam of wrote that, “Amazon Prime has had a few average outings with respect to Tamil cinema in the last few months. However, they now seem to be making all the right noises with ‘Putham Pudhu Kaalai’”. Ranjani Krishnakumar of gave 3.5 out of 5 stars for the film, saying, “The films of are relatable and moving only because the filmmakers stuck to narratives they knew well. But that is all the more reason that we, as an audience, should demand films are made by filmmakers of varied backgrounds”. of gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated ” is easy on the eye and mind but largely devoid of any radical breaks from the tried and tested.” Shubhra Gupta of gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated ” consists of five shorts made by a bunch of well-known directors. The lockdown and its impact has already been seen in many similar efforts by filmmakers around the world. But despite some perky moments here and there, this anthology remains mostly blah.” Karthik Kumar of stated “The Amazon Prime film is an anthology of five shorts, the unifying factor being the coronavirus lockdown. Each explores a different theme. Except for Subbaraj’s Miracle, it is hard to connect with the lockdown effect in any of the stories.” of gave 3.5 out of 5 and stated ” is a fun weekend watch. Mostly steering away from the cliches of the big screen, this is indeed ‘putham pudhu’ storytelling for the Tamil audience.” Karthik Keramalu of gave 3 out of 5 and stated ” , unlike last year’s Kannada anthology , isn’t made up of hugely varying narratives. Nevertheless, it’s watchable and pretty enjoyable!” gave 3 out of 5 stars stating, ” , is an anthology of feel good, positive stories.” gave 3 out of 5, stating, “Putham Pudhu Kaalai is a very average anthology. The main issue is that, having been made by eminent filmmakers, this one is not up to the mark.” Janani K of gave 3.5 out of 5 and stated ” is a delightful anthology that makes you realise the worth of relationships in your life.” Vivek M of wrote “The shorts are enjoyable but the conclusion of four films seems contrived. This is where Karthik Subbaraj’s Miracle, the final short film, stands out.” Nandini Ramanath of stated “An epoch-altering epidemic might be raging, but hope, happiness and a new world are round the corner, suggests, not always convincingly.” of wrote “The film falls into the general mood of this anthology: pleasant but generic. A lot of it is very broadly directed, almost like a big musical number. The musical score is even bigger: it “acts” more than the actors.”</p>