Kuttram Kuttrame Movie Review: Jai, Harish Uthaman shine in Susienthiran's return to form

Kuttram Kuttrame Movie Review: Jai, Harish Uthaman shine in Susienthiran's return to form

With multiple stories being narrated one after the other, it is up to Jai and Harish Uthaman to hold the film together, and both of them do a commendable job of it
Rating:(3 / 5)

Have you ever wondered what would a Drishyam/Papanasam be like if it was Jai instead of Mohanlal or Kamal Haasan playing the lead? Not sure if there could be a more random thought, but this is exactly what director Susienthiran develops in his latest directorial, Kuttram Kuttrame. There are a lot of beats in Kuttram Kuttrame that are similar to the Jeethu Joseph directorial, but this film is its very own beast and quite an interesting one at that. 

Kuttram Kuttrame might be called phase 2 of the Susienthiran Cinematic Universe. After a rather lacklustre few outings at the movies, Susienthiran is back with a film that is very much set in the same universe as his 2021 film, Eeswaran. Incidentally, the protagonist is also named Eeswaran, and the film stars Bharathiraaja in a pivotal, albeit different role. The film begins with three deaths that occur over two decades but are connected by the date. The Chekov’s Gun has excellent use in the third act and it is impressive how the writing organically gets to the point without overtly harping on the coincidence.

Cast: Jai, Harish Uthaman, Bharathiraaja, Smruthi Venkat, Dhivya Duraisamy

Director: Susienthiran

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video

While the film does start with three deaths, it is the fourth that comes in soon after that sets the ball rolling in this taut 100-odd minute film. Eeswaran’s wife Kokila (Dhivya Duraisamy) is found dead one morning after overdosing on sleeping pills. Jai’s sister, niece Priya (Smruthi Venkat), and Kokila’s parents believe it to be a case of suicide. However, Kokila’s uncle, Naatraayan (Harish Uthaman), who is the local police inspector, suspects a case of foul play and wants to investigate Eeswaran and family. When the investigation faces a series of roadblocks, retired DSP Muthukaruppan (Bharathiraaja) is called in to get to the bottom of things. 

Unlike in a Drishyam, we are kept in the dark if Jai’s Eeswaran is actually innocent. When asked by local bigwigs if he indeed was behind the death of his wife, a poker-faced Eeswaran says, “Naa unmaiya sonna, naalu peru baadhika paduvaanga, unmaiya marachaa oruthanga mattum dhaan baadhikka paduvaanga” (If I say the truth, four people will be affected, but if I hide it, only one has to be affected). It is almost like a play on the famous Nayagan dialogue. With the innocence of Eeswaran settling itself in a rather grey area, it all hinges on Muthukaruppan’s investigation. However, it isn’t the greatest of investigative processes because all Muthukaruppan does is sit with a bunch of suspects and ask a leading question just in time for the characters to go on a flashback. This lack of tension in the investigation is thankfully offset by how Susienthiran gets to the bottom of what happens. I also liked how there is a thin layer of dark comedy too that adds levity to the gloomy nature of the film. 

With Ajesh’s music bolstering the narrative, Kuttram Kuttrame sticks to a rather sedate tone throughout that works very much in favour of the film. This sombreness is also seen in the visuals of Velraj. Considering how the film unfolds during a funeral, there is an invisible clock ticking in the background that provides a wonderful sense of hurriedness, which pervades the film. It is almost like the events on the screen are unfolding in real-time despite the narrative shifting between timelines with uncanny ease. Another impressive aspect of Kuttram Kuttrame is how the global pandemic is used in the background. This is something that was seen in Susienthiran’s Eeswaran too. Unlike the STR-starrer that had the pandemic as a major plot point, this time around, considering how the world has almost accepted the pandemic, Kuttram Kuttrame has mask-wearing people, without focusing too much on that aspect. Points to Susienthiran for establishing the pandemic through his films, and it is something that is not seen in many other mainstream films released in the past two years. 

With multiple stories being narrated one after the other, it is up to Jai and Harish Uthaman to hold the film together, and both of them do a commendable job of it. Just like how Kuttram Kuttrame can be pegged as a decent return to form for the filmmaker, it also does a similar service to Jai’s career. As Eeswaran, he is as steely as the role requires him to be, and also brings in an understated sense of sympathy to his performance. Harish Uthaman being the star of his show shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore as his consistency has been admirable over the years. We also have the age-old trope of two women fighting over a man, but there is a twist there too that somehow manages to thrust a semblance of novelty into the template. While Smruthi’s character arc allows us to be more invested with her, Dhivya is given a considerably raw deal but she does get a chance to redeem herself in the last act, and the actor does manage to do it. 

Despite being billed as a whodunit of sorts, Kuttram Kuttrame works more as a family drama, but keeping its cards close to its chest does make the Susienthiran directorial engaging. It might not be an effective investigative thriller but it didn't really want to be. It might not be a compelling family drama, but that’s okay. It might not be the intense love triangle that the film hints to be, but thankfully, it does feel like the right thing. It might not be the murder mystery that one might think it is, but it is a murder mystery that we didn’t really think it would be. Basically, as Susienthiran neatly ties multiple threads into a beautiful little bow to give us a surprisingly effective film, which acts as a reminder that the biggest kuttram that we can do is to write off a filmmaker who gave us films like Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu, Azhagarsaamiyin Kuthirai, Naan Mahaan Alla, Pandiyanaadu and Jeeva.
 

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