A New Era? Gautham Vasudev Menon, Sudha Kongara, Rajiv Menon, Suhasini Mani Ratnam And Karthik Subbaraj To Direct Amazon Prime Video’s Anthology Putham Pudhu Kaalai

After announcing the high-profile news of releasing Suriya's big budget Soorarai Pottru directly on its platform, Amazon Prime Video made another splash when it got together big-name directors in Tamil to make an anthology film titled Putham Pudhu Kaalai. 

This is also a welcome sign from the OTT major as it focusses on creating original content for its platform instead of buying ready-made content from outside parties. It is also important that the platform is betting on directors to draw audiences in, not just star power. Especially so, after the platform received lukewarm response for its recent releases such as Penguin and Pon Magal Vandhal in Tamil, Sufiyum Sujatayum in Malayalam, V in Telugu and French Biryani in Kannada. 

Its series Comicstaan: Semma Comedy Pa and Time Enna Boss too didn't receive a great response. All attention is now on this new anthology that will see big-name directors make content for this platform, for the first time in South India. 

According to the release, the five short films will deal with topics as varied as, "love, new beginnings, second chances and a glimmer and hope". All the films are set during the lockdown period, and that's when they were shot too.  

The teaser barely gives us a glimpse into these films apart from hints that music will be a big part of GVM's film and that dance may play one in Rajiv Menon's. A tumbler of filter coffee can be seen in Suhasini's while the image of Kalidas Jayaram and Kalyani Priyadarshan playing video games makes up Sudha Kongara's. An image of two people inside a car is the only glimpse we get into Karthik Subbaraj's short. 

The five short films have been titled Illamai Idho Idho (Sudha Kongara), Avarum Naanum (Gautham Vasudev Menon), Coffee, Anyone? (Suhasini Mani Ratnam), Reunion (Rajiv Menon) and Miracle (Karthik Subbaraj). 

The films feature a range of actors, including Jayaram, Kalidas Jayaram, MS Bhaskar, Ritu Varma, Shruti Haasan, Anu Haasan, Andrea Jeremiah, Bobby Simha and Muthu Kumar. 

Other details are yet to be revealed, and it will be interesting to see the people that make up the technicians' list, apart from the music director of this film, named after Ilaiyaraaja's famous song. 

Netflix too had announced an anthology late last year, bringing together names such as  Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vetri Maaran, Vignesh Shivan and  Sudha Kongara; two of them are part of the Amazon anthology too.