Kutty (2001 film)

Last updated

Kutty
Directed by Janaki Vishwanathan
Written byJanaki Vishwanathan
Ramesh Arunachalam
Sivasankari
Produced byJanaki Vishwanathan
Ramesh Arunachalam
Starring P. Shwetha
Ramesh Aravind
Kausalya
Nassar
Eashwari Rao
Cinematography Thangar Bachan
Edited by A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by Ilayaraja
Release date
  • 10 August 2001 (2001-08-10)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kutty is a 2001 Indian Tamil language drama film directed by Janaki Vishwanathan starring P. Shwetha in the titular role with Ramesh Arvind, Kausalya, Nassar, Eashwari Rao and M. N. Rajam amongst others in supporting roles. The film's music is composed by Ilayaraja. Upon release, the film met with widespread critical acclaim.

Contents

Plot

The film revolves around a young girl who is forced into child labour working for an urban family after a tragedy in her own family. Paavaadai is a potter living in a village in the outskirts of Madurai. Even though his profession is in a miserable condition, he has high hopes for his daughter Kannammaa and raises her with much affection. Unfortunately, he dies in an accident and this forces Kannammaa to be sent to work for an urban family. The girl is quite happy about this, thinking about the prospects of good food and clothes. The family's working couple also treat her with kindness. However, the arrival of the mother-in-law changes everything. Kutty doesn't get enough food to eat and is mistreated by the old woman and her grandson. Day-by-day things get worsen. Once, Kutty's relatives come to see how she is doing. The grandmother behaves kindly to Kutty and makes them believe that she is completely happy there. Kutty too fails to communicate with them about her misery. Kutty watches the teenage girl who works in the opposite apartment being molested. And in a few days, she learns that the girl committed suicide. Even though supported by the couple (which infuriates the old woman), Kutty becomes desperate and decides to send a letter to her mother asking her to take her away back to the village. She tries to seek the help of a store owner, who is very kind to her. However, matters do not improve when Kutty reveals that she doesn't know the name of her village but she just knows the directions. One night, she decides to run away but she runs right into a man, who has a shop set up right next to Vivek's. He promises to help her and boards her onto a train. The man is then seen speaking to another man and bargaining for more money. The man says to Kutty that the other man will take good care of her and will reach her to her mother. But, the train is actually leaving not for her village, but to Mumbai, indicating that perhaps Kutty will be sold to a brothel. The film ends with showing Kutty's anticipated face on the prospect of going back to her mother.

Cast

Production

The film was made in 20 days on a shoestring budget of ₹70 lakh (worth ₹5.5 crore in 2021 prices).

Reception

A critic from Rediff.com wrote that "This film is not an 'entertainer', it doesn't set out to make you feel good. But, it is a movie you can't afford to miss". [1] The Hindu wrote "Adapted from a story by Sivasankari, Kutty is also a young woman's passion for causes - Janaki (who has done the scripting and screenplay along with her husband - producer Ramesh Arunachalam) has put together a team which has created a film that will remain long in the audience's minds - Ilayaraja with his musical score with lyrics by Mu Mehta (except for Hangachi Thangachi where the lyrics are by Raja himself) has given some somber moments to an already moving film". [2] Chennai Online wrote "Kutti' touches a chord in one's heart, and does make one feel guilty about the callousness with which domestic helps are treated". [3] Sify wrote "The film leaves a lump in your throat and does not sermonise. Hats off to director Janaki Viswanathan and her producer husband Ramesh Arunachalam for making a bold and thought provoking movie". [4]

Awards

The film has won the following awards since its release: [5]

2002 Cairo International Children's Film Festival (Egypt)

2002 National Film Awards (India)

2002 Gollapudi Srinivas Award

Related Research Articles

<i>Avvai Shanmugi</i> 1996 film by K. S. Ravikumar

Avvai Shanmugi is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language screwball comedy film directed by K. S. Ravikumar and co-written by Crazy Mohan. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Meena, with Gemini Ganesan, Nagesh, Heera, Manivannan, Nassar, Delhi Ganesh and Ann in supporting roles. Inspired by the American film Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), it revolves around a divorcé who disguises as an elderly female housekeeper to be close to his daughter, whose custody is only with his ex-wife.

<i>Nerrukku Ner</i> 1997 film directed by Vasanth

Nerrukku Ner is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Vijay and Suriya in the lead roles alongside Simran and Kausalya. Raghuvaran, Shanthi Krishna, Baby Jennifer, Karan, Vivek, Manivannan and Prakash Raj play supporting roles. Deva and K. V. Anand handled the music and cinematography respectively. It is the debut film for Suriya.

<i>Thirumalai</i> 2003 film by Ramana

Thirumalai is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Ramana and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Vijay and Jyothika, alongside Manoj K. Jayan, Avinash Yelandur, Vivek, Raghuvaran, Kausalya and Karunas. The music was composed by Vidyasagar, while cinematography and editing were handled by R. Rathnavelu and Suresh Urs.

<i>Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen</i> 1998 film by Vikraman

Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Vikraman. The film stars Karthik and Roja, with Ajith Kumar in a guest appearance. Ramesh Khanna, Moulee, Sathyapriya, Fathima Babu, and Madhan Bob play other supporting roles. It was Karthik's 100th film.

<i>Poovellam Kettuppar</i> 1999 Indian film

Poovellam Kettuppar is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy musical film written and directed by Vasanth. It stars Suriya and Jyothika. Vijayakumar, Nassar, Vadivelu and Ambika appear in supporting roles. The film was released on 6 August 1999.

<i>Pammal K. Sambandam</i> 2002 Indian film

Pammal K. Sambandam is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Moulee and scripted by Crazy Mohan. The film stars Kamal Haasan in the title role alongside Simran, Abbas and Sneha. The film was produced by P. L. Thenappan under Media Dreams, while Deva composed the music.

<i>Eazhaiyin Sirippil</i> 2000 film by K. Subash

Eazhaiyin Sirippil is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Subhash and written by P. Kalaimani. The film stars Prabhu Deva, Roja, Kausalya, and Suvalakshmi, while Indu, Vivek, Nassar, and Ranjith play supporting roles. The music was composed by Deva with cinematography by Ilavarasu and editing by Laxmi Raju. The film was released on 4 February 2000.

<i>Aur Ek Prem Kahani</i> 1996 film

Aur Ek Prem Kahani is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Balu Mahendra. The film features Ramesh Aravind, Sudhir Ahuja, and Heera Rajagopal. Co-starring in the film are Revathi Menon and Akshay Anand. The film is a remake of Balu Mahendra's Kannada film Kokila.

<i>Kutty Srank</i> 2010 Indian film

Kutty Srank is a 2010 Indian Malayalam arthouse film directed by Shaji N. Karun. Mammootty played the title role for the film and P. D. Sathish Chandra plays the antagonist. The film was produced by Reliance Entertainment under the banner of Big Motion Pictures, their first production in Malayalam. The film was released at the theatres of Kerala on 23 July 2010. The film won the national award for best feature film along with three other awards.

<i>2 Harihar Nagar</i> 2009 Indian film

2 Harihar Nagar is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film written and directed by Lal and produced by P. N. Venugopal starring Mukesh, Siddique, Jagadish and Ashokan. It is the sequel to In Harihar Nagar (1990). The film chronicles the story of four childhood friends Mahadevan (Mukesh), Govindan Kutty (Siddique), Appukuttan (Jagadish) and Thomas Kutty (Ashokan) who revisits their home residence Harihar Nagar after many years to relive their old days. However, problems arise when one of them goes missing.

<i>Kerala Cafe</i> 2009 Indian film

Kerala Cafe is a 2009 Indian Malayalam-language drama horror anthology film produced by Ranjith and directed by a team of ten directors including Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, Shyamaprasad, B. Unnikrishnan, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M. Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan, and Uday Ananthan. For the first time in Malayalam cinema, one film was conceived by a team of ten directors. Ten cinematographers, musicians, editors, art directors and almost all the top Malayalam film actors joined this unique venture. The film stars Dileep and Navya Nair, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Rahman, Suresh Gopi and Jyothirmayi, Fahadh Faasil and Rima Kallingal, Nithya Menen and Jagathy Sreekumar, Siddique and Shwetha Menon, Suraj Venjaramoodu,Sona Nair, Salim Kumar and Jinu Joseph, Mammootty and Sreenivasan in this film segments lead roles

Kutti Pisasu in Tamil, Bombat Car in Kannada and Cara Majaka in Telugu is a 2010 Indian multilingual fantasy film written and directed by Rama Narayanan, who returns after an eight year sabbatical. The film stars Baby Geethika, Ramji, Rajiv Kanakala, Silli Lalli Ravishankar, Sangeetha, and Ramya Krishnan, while Riyaz Khan, Shafi, Ganja Karuppu, and Nassar play supporting roles. Each version has a slightly different supporting cast. The Tamil version was dubbed in Hindi as Magic Robot and in Bengali as Robot - The Magic Car. The Tamil version was named after a song from Kaalai (2008), which also stars Sangeetha.

<i>Thai Poranthachu</i> 2000 Indian film

Thai Poranthachu is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by R. K. Kalaimani. The film stars Prabhu, Karthik and Kausalya whilst Vivek and Ponnambalam play supporting roles. It was remade in Telugu as Choosoddaam Randi.

<i>Sollamale</i> 1998 Indian film

Sollamale is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Sasi in his directorial debut. The film stars Livingston and Kausalya while Karan, Vivek, Anand, and Prakash Raj play supporting roles. It was released on 1 August 1998 and became a box office success. The film was later remade in Telugu by the same director as Seenu (1999) and in Hindi as Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai (2002).

<i>Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer</i> 2013 Indian film

Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer is a 2013 Indian Tamil language romantic drama film directed by Suseenthiran. It features debutant Santhosh Ramesh and Manisha Yadav of Vazhakku Enn 18/9 fame in the lead roles. It is produced by Nallu Studios and music by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Cinematography is by Soorya A. R., editing by Antony, stunts by Anal Arasu, lyrics by Vaali and Yugabharathi. The film released with highly positive reviews. The film was remade in Kannada as Naduve Antaravirali (2018).

<i>Mayabazaar 1995</i> 1995 film by Keyaar

Mayabazaar 1995 is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language comedy horror film directed by Keyaar and produced by Meena Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Ramki and Urvashi, with Suvarna Mathew, Visu, Vivek and Ajay Rathnam in supporting roles. It was released on 12 August 1995.

<i>Engalukkum Kaalam Varum</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Balaruban

Engalukkum Kaalam Varum is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Balaruban. The film stars Livingston, Kausalya, Vivek and Vadivelu. It was released on 9 February 2001.

<i>Penmani Aval Kanmani</i> 1988 Indian film

Penmani Aval Kanmani is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Visu, and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Pratap Pothen, Seetha, Visu and Kishmu. It was released on 11 March 1988. The film was remade in Telugu as Aadade Aadharam.

<i>Kutty Story</i> 2021 Indian anthology film

Kutty Story is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language romantic anthology film, consisting of four short film segments directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vijay, Venkat Prabhu and Nalan Kumarasamy and produced by Ishari K. Ganesh under the banner of Vels Film International. The film stars Menon, Amala Paul, Vinoth Kishan, Amitash Pradhan, Megha Akash, Sunaina, Varun, Sakshi Agarwal, Vijay Sethupathi and Aditi Balan. The film was released on 12 February 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Rajitha (9 October 2001). "A lost innocence". Rediff.com .
  2. ↑ "The Hindu : Film Review: Kutty". hindu.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Kutti". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 24 March 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Kutty". Sify . Archived from the original on 2 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Award for Kutty and its maker". The Hindu. 11 April 2002.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.