A soulful experience epitomizing emotions and relationships
A brand new dawn is what Putham Pudhu Kaalai means. It’s an anthology of life and its experiences from different perspectives. The lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic has turned many lives worse but there is always a glimmer of hope everywhere, a new beginning and a new dawn as evident from these 5 stories coming from 5 competent directors, streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
These stories are quite vivid and different like a rainbow that appears very rarely on the horizon when sunrays converge with rain.
Ilamai Idho Idho
The lockdown comes as a blessing in disguise for the widower Rajiv Padmanabhan (Jayaram) and his girlfriend Lakshmi Krishnan (Urvashi) who get reunited for a day but get stuck together due to the lockdown imposed by the Government.
Jayaram is excellent particularly the scene when he answers the call from Lakshmi’s son pretending as an yoga master is fabulous. Younger Jayaram (Kalidas) and Kalyani Priyadarshan lit the screen with their effervescent on-screen chemistry.
The director Sudha Kongara has given the story of Francis Thomas and Shruti Ramachandran a realistic look by representing the true nature of human tendency that leads to petty quarrels over trivial issues. After all, habits die hard and it needs a lot of understanding and little adjustment to make any relationship stronger.
Avarum Naanum-Avalum Naanum
This is the story of Kanna (Ritu Varma) and her old Tatha/Grandfather (M.S.Bhaskar) who met after a long time. They get along well after a couple of misunderstandings with the music bringing the old memories back to life. Bhaskar is outstanding and Ritu’s screen presence is awesome.
The inherent bond that flows between two souls even when they are a generation apart is very well exploited by the writer Reshma Ghatala and director Gautam Vasudev Menon who enhanced the narrative with his distinctive taking. The compositions of Govind Vasantha and cinematography by P.C.Sreeram are mesmerizing.
Coffee, Anyone?
Valli (Suhasini Maniratnam) and Saras (Anu Hasan) come to see their Amma (Komalam Charuhasan) who is in a state of coma. To their surprise, instead of getting her treated in a hospital, Mahendran (Kathadi Ramamurthy) decides to bring his wife back home so that she can get more peace than in the hospital.
Valli and Saras who oppose their father’s decision get overwhelmed by the attachment between her father and mother who share an amazing connection between them.
The younger daughter Ramya (Shruti Haasan) who wishes her mom on her 75th birthday by making a video call and the reaction from the coma affected mom surprises everyone.
The deft writing and direction of Suhasini Maniratnam along with Maniratnam brilliantly captures the essence of human relations and affectionate bond that exist between a husband and wife.
Shruti though appears for a lesser time, makes an impression that lasts longer while Suhasini and Anu are superb in giving out top-notch performances. Those dance moves by this duo are truly mind-blowing.
Reunion
Two old school friends met accidentally due to lockdown. Sadhana (Andrea Jeremiah) bumps into her old friend Dr Vikram (Gurucharan) and has to stay at his home due to lockdown.
Sadhana wins the heart of Bhairavi (Leela Samson) the mother of Vikram but could not hide her drug addiction. Vikram decides to get her de-addicted followed by his expression of love towards Sadhana.
Andrea has put up a splendid show and it’s going to prove a point about her talent. The story of Adhithya K R, Krishnaswamy Ramkumar was given a dash of richness by Writer-Director Rajiv Menon which emphasizes the fact that drug addiction can be treated if someone is there to take care of drug addicts by showing some love and affection.
Miracle
The final blow from Karthik Subbaraj packs a punch. This is the story of two greedy men Devan (Bobby Simha) and Rocky (Sharath Ravi) who in the strangest way sneak into an office mistaking it for a software company to grab one or two laptops. But their plans go awry and they stumble upon something ‘big’ while leaving a ‘fortune’ for the director Michael (Muthukumar) who badly needed a miracle to pull out him from the rot.
Karthik Subbaraj’s Miracle brings out the necessary relief after the three intense stories which is nothing less than a breather with some enjoyable moments.
Verdict & Rating
The strongest point in the first four shorts is the beauty of songs, Oho Endham Baby, Kulfi Kuchchi, impressively composed by G.V.Prakash Kumar and mellifluously sung by him along with S.P.Charan and Bhavani in the first story and Kanna Thoodhu Po Da rendered by Bombay Jayashri in her magical voice in the second story have added the grandeur to both the stories.
It’s a rare opportunity to watch the works of some of the greatest storytellers in a single film. The stories are simple and straightforward. They are successful in touching lives, epitomizing those subtle emotions, and juxtaposing that invisible bond that enables the relationships to stay afloat amidst many challenges.
The humane touch without any melodrama or staged performances is enough to give Putham Pudhu Kaalai a try with open mind. Nevertheless, it’s a soulful experience that cannot be missed.
Rating:4/5
