Kuttram Kadithal

I found Kuttram Kadithal on Primevideo (orig. Tamil w/Eng. Subs).

KK is an intense dark film, realistic and very well enacted especially by the protagonist Merlin Teacher ( brilliant performance by Radhika Prasiddha) and the auto rickshaw union leader (Pavel Navageethan) who is also the mama of the child victim Chezhiyan. The school principal and his wife are also excellent. The entire cast does justice to their characters.

The newly married Merlin has just resumed work at school. She fills in a class for her friend who has gone to the cinema alone with her husband (minus the m-i-l). In that class, a precocious girl accuses another rather cute but mischievous boy Chezhiyan (Ajay) of kissing another girl who is whimpering. When confronted, Cheri says he didnt do anything wrong, just gave her a birthday kiss because it is her birthday. Merlin gets very annoyed at his perceived impudence and administers what is known as 'one tight slap' to the boys cheek. The puny child falls down, unconscious. Everyone is shocked and efforts to revive him are in vain. The boy is moved to a nearby clinic and as his condition deteriorates, to a big hospital. The principal (Kulothungan Udaykumar) senses there could be big trouble as the boy is fatherless and his mother is a poor auto rickshaw driver, and tells Merlin to go away with her husband Manikandan for a few days to his friends resort in Kollimalai and he will take care of everything. Merlin herself is in a state of shock, getting worse by the minute. Merlin and Manikandan are on board the bus to Kollimalai. In the meantime, Chezhiyan's mama has called in the media and the police and the principal is struggling to manage the increasingly volatile situation. Manikandan assures the policewoman in charge that he will bring Merlin back to Chennai, and they get off the bus halfway and try to get transport back. There are no Chennai buses and the by now almost depraved Merlin hails a truck to give them a lift. Manikandan is apprehensive but the truck driver is decent, listens to Merlin's story and drops them at a suitable point. Merlin is totally traumatised by guilt at this point, the couple go to the hospital to meet Chezhiyan's mother just as he is going in for surgery. Merlin holds the mother's hand and makes her slap her(Merlin's) face repeatedly. Eventually the mother (Sachu) hugs Merlin and says all she wants is her son back. No further Spoilers from me :-)))

Smaller significant sub plots also play out in the narration.

Overall, this is a good film touching not just the issue of child rights viz. Corporal punishment but even of the varied relationships between the characters. It is realistic, well made and certainly worth watching. Some of the music is also very good. I did fast forward a few frames every now and then but that is my habit with OTT viewing.

One of the best Tamil films in the recent times. When everyone sails towards commercial victories, This Crew has sailed their ship towards the true emotions with next-door-like characters and added a feather to their hat. The visualization for Chinnanchiru Kiliye is the best i have seen so far for the song. The nuances are so delicate and brings tears. The attention to minute details of each and every character is amazing. Music has really been the backbone of the film. Underplayed and sometimes blank is the exact terminology for the music. The character Udayan (Chezhian's Uncle) is a respectable one. The Headmaster and his wife impress us in the scene where they reveal about their daughter. Lots more to tell. This film is not about watching. Its about feeling. Amazing Movie. பிரம்மனின் சிறந்த படைப்பு.

There are two kind of movies. One - you go, watch, enjoy/weep, tell your friends about it; Two - You experience something, think about it, share your experience, think about it again. Kuttram Kadithal is such an experience. Handling a volatile subject like sex education and education system is a tedious task. But Bramma does it perfectly in taking the realistic cinema to a step further in explaining the current social issues. The lead actors are just perfect in their role and it makes us to forget that this is their debut performance! Songs and their picturisation is just amazing!

Best realistic movies on the lines of kaaka muttai. But this movie will make us realize of something.

Probably the best movie in recent times I have witnessed. Watch in theaters. Good cinema needs our support too!

It has been a long time since I watched a movie which is so close to my heart. I think this will be in my top movies list for quite some time.. just like Anbe Sivam is always in that list.

We would have heard Chinna Chiru Kiliye song so many times. But listening in this movie made me feel as if it was written for this movie.

Most part of the movie - I felt like it's real than a movie. Last time I felt like that was when watching Kadhal by Balaji Sakthivel.

The last scene was icing on the cake.

How can a movie be full of positive characters? That's the only unrealistic part I think.

Hats off to the entire crew. It's a shame I didn't know about this movie till now. OTT platforms like Amazon prime video should be credited for releasing gems like this.

This movie got released same time as Kakka Muttai. Both got National Award. That's the irony of reach of both movies.

The term 'Film' is a lot more aesthetic and more serious. Kuttram Kadithal - The Punishment. is one such film which doesn't while away 2 hours of your time. It tells you how you should spend the rest of the hours left to live.

The director has neatly handled the principles of filmmaking after thorough research on how the characters need to be introduced, established and utilized. The background score, sound design, costumes, shot-division, acting and the context are always in sync, providing us a non-exaggerated high of artistic intoxication.

Storyline : A teacher gets into trouble and faces a crisis of faith.