Putham Pudhu Kaalai

Story:

Putham Pudhu Kaalai is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language anthology film, consisting of five short film segments, directed by Sudha Kongara, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rajiv Menon, and Karthik Subbaraj. The film features an ensemble cast of Jayaram, Kalidas Jayaram, Shruti Haasan, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Andrea Jeremiah, Bobby Simha, M. S. Bhaskar, Ritu Varma, Urvashi, Suhasini Maniratnam, Anu Haasan, Kathadi Ramamurthy, Komalam Charuhasan, Gurucharan C, Leela Samson, Sharath Ravi and Vettai Muthukumar among others. The film was entirely shot during the COVID-19 pandemic in India and was set against the backdrop of the country’s 21-day lockdown in March 2020. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video on 16 October 2020. A sequel titled Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa released in 2022.

PLOT

The five short films of Putham Pudhu Kaalai talk about hope, love, and new beginnings in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ilamai Idho Idho

It’s a breezy love between two senior citizens.
Rajeev (Jayaram), a widower, lives in a big apartment all alone. Just before the Indian Government announces a lockdown in India, his girlfriend Lakshmi (Urvashi), arrives at his home to spend a few days with him. They catch up and spend more time together when the lockdown is announced. Their respective children, unaware of their relationship, are worried about their safety during the pandemic while they get to know each other better like a young couple (Kalidas Jayaram/ Kalyani Priyadarshan). One day during a petty argument between the couple, Rajeev’s daughter and son-in-law show up unannounced to check up on him.

Lakshmi hides in a closet and witnesses Rajeev and his daughter sharing a warm moment together. When Rajeev finally manages to get rid of his daughter and son-in-law, the couple realize that they were both at fault for getting mad over something petty. Their bond grows deeper, and they express concern over how their kids will react to their relationship. The film ends with the couple taking the leap to introduce each other to their children over a video call.

Avarum Naanum – Avalum Naanum

It is a building of a bond between an old grandfather (M. S. Bhaskar) and an estranged granddaughter (Ritu Varma). It is very beautiful, as they get past the differences between them and understand each other better.

The grandfather is a retired scientist and living alone. His granddaughter Khanna, who works in the IT industry, comes to take care of her grandfather on the insistence of her father. Initially, Khanna was not happy with her grandfather as he did not accept her mother’s love. Once Khanna starts spending time with her grandfather, she understands the reason for his anger (he wanted her mother to continue her singing as he considered her voice to be divine, but her mother chose to get married instead, thus causing the estrangement) and decides to visit her grandfather’s house regularly.

Coffee, Anyone?

Two daughters, Valli (Suhasini Maniratnam) and Saras (Anu Hasan) are visiting their comatose mother Soundara (Komalam Charuhasan). They are upset about their father Mahendran (Kathadi Ramamurthy) treating her at home and the fact that their younger sister Ramya (Shruti Haasan) has decided not to come meet their mother over past fights. Yet they overcome their differences and try to emotionally connect with their mother. That is when they realize that she is showing signs of improvement. They want to share all that is happening in their respective lives to her. Finally, they are more than happy to see their mother awake.

Reunion

Sadhana (Andrea Jeremiah) and Vikram (Gurucharan C) are school friends who share a passion for music. In the present day, Vikram is a doctor, while Sadhana follows her childhood passion and has an event management company. Due to the lockdown, Sadhana is forced to spend some time with Vikram and his mother Bhairavi (Leela Samson) at their house, and she gets especially close to Bhairavi. It is later revealed that Sadhana is struggling from a drug addiction which she believes helps her with creating music. Vikram and his mother help her through this phase, and she later decides to seek help from a professional to deal with her addiction. In the closing scene, Vikram admits that the poetry he wrote back in college was not for his then girlfriend, but for Sadhana.

Miracle

A young filmmaker, Michael (Vettai Muthukumar), watches a Guruji (Ezhil Arasan Babaraj) on the television. Two poor thugs, Devan (Bobby Simha) and Rocky (Sharath Ravi), want to make quick money by believing in the miracle that the Baba talks about. The story of the three intervenes to a funny climax where the thugs remain poor, Michael finds a lot of money to make his film, and the Guruji loses a few millions.