The trailer of Putham Pudhu Kaalai, an anthology of five Tamil short films, released on Monday. The anthology, an Amazon original movie, will stream on Amazon Prime Video on October 16. The directors on board include Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Suhashini Mani Ratnam, Rajiv Menon and Karthik Subbaraj.
The trailer shows glimpses from all five films, and begins with an announcement that PM Modi has declared a lockdown for 21 days. The anthology appears to be on how the different characters in the stories respond to the lockdown.
Ilamai Idho Idho, directed by Sudha Kongara, has Jayaram, Kalidas Jayaram, Urvashi and Kalyani Priyadarshan in the cast. While Jayaram and Urvashi’s characters appear a bit worried about having to stay home for 21 days, the younger couple seems delighted.
In Avanum Naanum/Avalum Naanum, directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, a granddaughter (Ritu Varma) ends up staying with her grandfather (MS Bhaskar) whom she does not know all that well during the lockdown.
Suhasini Maniratnam’s Coffee, Anyone? has Anu Hasan and Shruti Haasan apart from herself in the cast. The story appears to revolve around the 75th birthday of a patient in an ICU.
Reunion, directed by Rajiv Menon, has Andrea playing a young woman whose bike breaks down and she ends up staying with a man (Sikkhil Gurucharan). Her character appears to be on drugs. Leela Samson is also part of the cast.
Not surprisingly, Karthik Subbaraj’s Miracle appears to be a thriller with some supernatural elements, with Bobby Simha and Muthu Kumar in the lead.
In an earlier press release, Amazon Prime Video had said that Putham Pudhu Kaalai was shot in compliance with the rules and regulations set by the Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) for filming during the ‘Unlock’ phase.
“Putham Pudhu Kaalai was born with the intent of talking about hope, love and new beginnings and the fact that art finds expression in the most challenging times,” said Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video. “With Putham Pudhu Kaalai, we are delighted to bring to our customers a unique offering by some of the best creative visionaries from the Tamil entertainment industry,” she added.
Previously, Amazon Prime Video released C U Soon, directed by Mahesh Narayan and with Fahadh Faasil, Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran in the lead. This film, too, was shot after the government permitted shooting to resume, with COVID-19 protocols in place. The thriller, which was told entirely through screens, was received well by audiences and critics alike.
Watch the trailer of Putham Pudhu Kaalai here: