''Kutty Story'' () is a 2021 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-language
romantic anthology film, consisting of four
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
segments directed by
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...
,
Vijay,
Venkat Prabhu
Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his firs ...
and
Nalan Kumarasamy
Nalan Kumarasamy is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his career as a short filmmaker and won the title of the first season of ''Naalaya Iyakunar''. He made his feature film debut with Tamil film, ''Soodhu ...
and produced by
Ishari K. Ganesh
Dr. Ishari K Ganesh (pronounced as Ai-sari) is the founder, chairman and Chancellor of Vels University in Chennai, India.
He founded the Vael's Educational Trust in 1992 in the memory of his late father Isari Velan, a former Member of Legisl ...
under the banner of Vels Film International. The film stars Menon,
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language film ''Neelathamara'', and she later became no ...
,
Vinoth Kishan
Vinoth Kishan is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. He made his debut as a child artiste in Bala's ''Nandha'' (2001), before playing villain in '' Naan Mahaan Alla'' and '' Vidiyum Munn''.
Career
...
,
Amitash Pradhan
Amitash Pradhan (born 12 October 1990) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Tamil films. He has starred in films such as ''Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (2014), '' Bruce Lee - The Fighter'' (2015), ''Heartbeats'' (2017), '' Vaanam Kottatum'' ( ...
,
Megha Akash
Megha Akash (born 26 October 1995) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu-language films. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Lie'' (2017).
Megha made her Tamil film debut with '' Petta'' and Hindi f ...
,
Sunaina
Sunaina is an Indian actress and model. She predominantly works in Tamil movies as well as few Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her film debut with Telugu film ''Kumar Vs Kumari'' (2005) and her Tamil debut '' Kadhalil Vizhunthen'' ...
,
Varun,
Sakshi Agarwal
Sakshi Agarwal is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in Tamil films and in a few Kannada and Malayalam films. After beginning her working career as a marketing consultant, she pursued acting and garnered attention through part time mo ...
,
Vijay Sethupathi
Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award.
Fo ...
and
Aditi Balan
Aditi Balan is an Indian actress, dancer and model who works in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She is best known for her role as Aruvi in the film ''Aruvi''. After the completion of her law degree in Chennai, she appeared in an brief role ...
. The film was released on 12 February 2021.
List of short films
Plot
''Edhirpaara Muththam''
Aadhi (
Vinoth Kishan
Vinoth Kishan is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. He made his debut as a child artiste in Bala's ''Nandha'' (2001), before playing villain in '' Naan Mahaan Alla'' and '' Vidiyum Munn''.
Career
...
) and Mrinalini (
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language film ''Neelathamara'', and she later became no ...
) are engineering students and best friends. Though they get along well and spend most of their time together, they believe that there is an invisible line between love and friendship and they should not cross it for any reason. Aadhi insists the same to his friends and says that a man and woman can just be friends no matter what. However, the events that unfold in the later stage of his life destroy his theory and make him understand that there is love between the two.
''Avanum Naanum''
Preethi (
Megha Akash
Megha Akash (born 26 October 1995) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu-language films. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Lie'' (2017).
Megha made her Tamil film debut with '' Petta'' and Hindi f ...
), a final-year student, discovers that she is three months pregnant and informs her boyfriend Vikram (
Amitash Pradhan
Amitash Pradhan (born 12 October 1990) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Tamil films. He has starred in films such as ''Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (2014), '' Bruce Lee - The Fighter'' (2015), ''Heartbeats'' (2017), '' Vaanam Kottatum'' ( ...
) about the same. Within a few minutes, unfortunate circumstances put Vikram in non-reachable mode, forcing Preethi to seek an abortion. Does destiny help her live with her loved one or put her in trouble?
''Lokham''
Adam (
Varun) is a gamer who tries to find the whereabouts of his girlfriend Eve (
Sangeetha), whom he met in a video game. The film begins with an interview of Adam, one of the top gamers in the city, and the first to complete the game called Logam. He credits his girlfriend for all the success and says that he dedicates the victory to her. But who is this girlfriend and what does she do? Does this girl exist only in the game or is she real and in love with him as well?
''Aadal Paadal''
Ninja Manick (
Vijay Sethupathi
Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award.
Fo ...
) and Kuchu (
Aditi Balan
Aditi Balan is an Indian actress, dancer and model who works in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She is best known for her role as Aruvi in the film ''Aruvi''. After the completion of her law degree in Chennai, she appeared in an brief role ...
) are a happily married couple. However, they go through a bad phase in life after knowing that Manick is cheating on Kuchu. The writing is typical of Nalan's films - characters who are on the grey side of the law, twists where you least expect them, and a bizarre plot. Kuchu impersonates her husband's paramour to confirm that he is indeed having an affair.
Cast
Production
On 2 September 2020,
Vels Film International announced that they were producing an anthology film with directors
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...
,
A. L. Vijay
A. L. Vijay, known professionally as Vijay, is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. An assistant director with Priyadarshan, he debuted as director with films such as '' Kireedam'' and the critically acclaimed ''Madr ...
,
Venkat Prabhu
Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his firs ...
and
Nalan Kumarasamy
Nalan Kumarasamy is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his career as a short filmmaker and won the title of the first season of ''Naalaya Iyakunar''. He made his feature film debut with Tamil film, ''Soodhu ...
being brought on board for the project. The same day, the studio revealed the conceptual promo of the film was titled as ''Kutty Love Story''.
The shooting for the film already wrapped up before the announcement of the series, but the makers did not decipher the details of the lead cast and crew. On 6 September, the makers revealed the official cast and crew members with Gautham Menon,
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language film ''Neelathamara'', and she later became no ...
,
Vijay Sethupathi
Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award.
Fo ...
,
Megha Akash
Megha Akash (born 26 October 1995) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu-language films. She made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Lie'' (2017).
Megha made her Tamil film debut with '' Petta'' and Hindi f ...
,
Amitash Pradhan
Amitash Pradhan (born 12 October 1990) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Tamil films. He has starred in films such as ''Velaiilla Pattadhari'' (2014), '' Bruce Lee - The Fighter'' (2015), ''Heartbeats'' (2017), '' Vaanam Kottatum'' ( ...
,
Sakshi Agarwal
Sakshi Agarwal is an Indian actress and model who has appeared in Tamil films and in a few Kannada and Malayalam films. After beginning her working career as a marketing consultant, she pursued acting and garnered attention through part time mo ...
and
Varun being roped in for the film. Out of the four films Prabhu's anthology is said to be made in a
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
angle with
computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
being involved.
Soundtrack
The film features a promotional single titled "Maayangal" composed by
Karthik and written by
Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience".
Vivek may refe ...
, which was sung by Karthik,
Nakul Abhyankar
Nakul Abhyankar (born 25 May 1990) is an Indian playback singer, music composer and sound engineer. He has sung in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Tulu. He is best known for his songs "Love You Chinna" from the film "Love Mocktail" compos ...
and Krishna.K. It was released on 10 February 2021. Another song "Nee Naan Nee" composed by Karthik, was featured in the anthology's first segment ''Edhirpaara Muththam''. The song written by
Madhan Karky and sung by Rajaganapathy was released on 22 February 2021. There is also
Navz-47 song on the last story.
Release
The makers discussed with leading
OTT platform
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a Media (communications), media service offered Direct-to-consumer, directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses Cable television, cable, broadcast television, broadcast, and satellite television platf ...
s to distribute the film, in order to schedule for a release in December 2020.
However, it was later announced that the film will be scheduled for a theatrical release during the
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...
weekend, on 12 February 2021.
Reception
M. Suganth of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated "Except for Nalan Kumarasamy and Gautham Menon's works, the anthology is underwhelming." Ranjani Krishnakumar of ''
Firstpost
''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18.
The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Ragh ...
'' gave 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Within the constraints of an urban, middle class, heterosexual romance, Kutty Story is an interesting mix of shorts." Srinivasa Ramanujam of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' wrote "Nalan Kumarasamy and Gautham Menon deliver what is expected of them in this Tamil anthology, but there’s not much beyond that." Haricharan Pudipeddi of ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' reviewed "Kutty Story is a cocktail of love stories with some quirky twists. Except for Nalan’s refreshing short on male insecurity in a marriage, other shorts come across as promising but never work wholesomely."
''Behindwoods'' gave the film 2.75 out of 5 and stated "Kutty Story is a worthy romantic anthology with interesting scripts." ''
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' gave a rating of 3 out of 5 stating "Kutty Story's best episode belongs to Nalan Kumarasamy but the rest of the stories fail to excite us much." ''Indiaglitz'' gave 3 out of 5 to the film stating "Kutty Story with a top notch cast and crew is needless to add that the technical aspects of all the four stories are of the highest quality. Though the stories work within themselves and are also fairly engaging one cannot fault the audiences for expecting much better than whats on show considering the big names involved."
References
External links
*
{{Venkat Prabhu
2021 films
Indian anthology films
2020s Tamil-language films
2021 romance films
Indian romance films