On the strength of two National Awards and several glowing reviews (the film was quite a hit in the festival circuit), Kaakka Muttai has become one of the most-anticipated Tamil films in recent times. Mostly because people here don’t really know what the heck it is about. The film has premiered in Toronto, Brisbane, Los Angeles and Rome over the past few months, just not anywhere in India. So you can imagine how curious the film-goers are to see what fetched it so much acclaim. We get the general idea, yes. It is about two young lads on a journey to taste pizza. According to its director, Manikandan, the film delves into larger issues such as globalization and class differences in India, but is not ‘preachy’.
With the combined star power of producers Dhanush & Vetrimaaran, and those shiny awards in Manikandan’s office, Kaakka Muttai seems ready to take on the box office. Will it make the cut though?
*****
Recommended
If social dramas are not your thing, then there’s Krish’s debut vehicle – Puriyatha Anantham Puthithaga Aarambam, which is about lovers, love in bus-stands, love on moving trains, love on the fields…and a lot of love. Singer Krish has handled many a responsibility for his debut feature – he sings, dances, smiles and zig zags through peak-hour traffic like a boss. Srushti Dange is Nila in this one, and from the film’s trailer, we understand that she plays a slightly sprightlier version of the role she played in Megha. Without the darker parts, we hope.
Also something we gleaned from the rather helpful trailer, was that this film is really about a couple who are secretly in love with each other, yet just don’t admit it. The timing is never really right for Krish’s Bharathi and his lady love, and director Thambi Syed Ibrahim is of the hope that all this unrequited passion would translate into a nail-biting drama.
Only time will tell.
*****