Kuthiraivaal
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed byManoj Leonel Jahson
Shyam Sunder
Written byG. Rajesh
Produced byPa. Ranjith
Vignesh Sundaresan
StarringKalaiyarasan
Anjali Patil
CinematographyKarthik Muthukumar
Edited byGridaran MKP
Music byMartian Visser
Production
companies
Neelam Productions
Yaazhi Films
Distributed byNeelam Productions
Release dates
  • 12 February 2021 (2021-02-12) (IFFK)
  • 18 March 2022 (2022-03-18) (India)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kuthiraivaal also spelt as Kuthirai Vaal (transl. Horse's tail) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language psychological drama film written by G. Rajesh and co-directed by Manoj Leonel Jahson and Shyam Sunder on their directorial debuts. The film's background score has been composed by Martin Visser and the songs composed by Pradeep Kumar. The film stars Kalaiyarasan, Anjali Patil, Sowmya Jaganmurthy, Anand Sami and Chetan.[1] The film consists of magic realism elements such as man with a horse tail, horse without a tail and a sky with both sun and moon appearing simultaneously at the same time.[2][3] The film is deemed as one of only few Tamil films to have used the concept of magical realism besides Aalavandhan.[4] It became the first Indian film to have been nominated for international premiere at the Berlin critics film festival.[5] The film is loosely inspired from Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis.[6] The film was scheduled to be released in theatres on 4 March 2022,but got postponed to 18 March 2022.[7] The film received mixed reviews from critics and audience.

Plot

Saravanan (Kalaiyarasan) who calls himself as Freud works as a cashier in a bank. One day he wakes up after having a dream where he sees a horse without a tail, and a sky with both the sun and moon at the same time. He soon realizes that he has grown a horse's tail mysteriously after waking up. His quest to find the meaning behind this mysterious tail forms the rest of the film.

Cast

Production

It was revealed that the writer of the film G. Rajesh came on board voluntarily approached both Shyam and Manoj and narrated the script to them. The filmmakers felt impressed with the script after listening to it and began to work on the film production.[9] It took over a year and a half for both Shyam and Manoj to find the right producer for the film. Prior to this film project, both Shyam and Manoj attempted to make a feature film in 2015 but it was shelved due to financial issues.[9]

Director Pa. Ranjith came on board as producer of the film and bankrolled under his production banner Neelam Productions.[10] Vignesh came on board as co-producer of the film.[11] According to few sources, it was initially reported that the film would be made as an anthology with 5 stories and it was also speculated that Pa. Ranjith would direct one of the 5 stories in the film.[12] However, in 2019, Pa. Ranjith refuted the speculations and clarified that Kuthiraivaal would be one of the five films that he decided to produce under his production banner Neelam Productions.[13][14][15]

The principal photography of the film began in 2018 and the post-production works began in 2019 mainly focusing on the computer graphics.[9] The tail which was used in the film was created by combining both prosthetics and visual effects.[5]

Soundtrack

The songs were composed by Pradeep Kumar and Martin Visser while the latter did the film score.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Parandhu Pogindren"Prasath RamarPradeep Kumar,Kalyani Nair5:03
2."Pogum Vazhigal"Uma DeviAnthony Daasan4:53
3."Thaalaatu"Sathish Raja DharmarLalitha Vijaykumar, Priyanka NK5:14
4."Vaazh Vitta Peyar"Sathish Raja DharmarSivam5:08
5."Unnaivandhu Adaiyava"Uma DeviSean Roldan, Priyanka NK4:56

Premiere

The filmmakers initially planned to screen the film in festival circuits before theatrical release. However, the plans were affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The filmmakers opted not to release the film via virtual online film festivals due to piracy concerns and instead opted for physical film festival premieres. It was officially selected to be premiered as one of the films under India Story section for the 2020 MAMI (Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image) Mumbai Film Festival.[16][17][18] The festival was pushed back to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

It was also selected for premiere at the International Film Festival of Kerala on 12 February 2021 and opened to positive reviews from critics.[13][20][21][22] The film was also screened at the Berlin critics week on 27 February 2021.[5][6]

Baradwaj Rangan wrote for Film Companion South, "Kuthiraivaal works best when it relies on the sound (Anthony Ruban) and score (Maarten Visser and Pradeep Kumar), which distort and amplify these strange happenings."[23]

Reception

Sruthi Raman critic from Times of india gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and noted that "While the film has its moments of imagery that lets you into another world as it unfolds on the big screen, Kuthirai Vaal gets lost in its tracks on the way, just as its protagonist often is.".[24] Kirubhakar Purushothaman critic from Cinema Express gave mixture of reviews and said that "Kuthiraivaal leaves you inspecting what is it that you are feeling. And that’s why the existence of the film in Tamil cinema is a success in itself." he have 3.5 out of 5 star.[25] Srivatsan S critic from The Hindu said "There is very little ‘movie’ in this abstract and trippy experience"[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Here is the teaser of Kalaiyarasan's 'Kuthiraivaal'". The Times of India. 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. ↑ Venkiteswaran, C. S. (24 February 2021). "In Tamil film 'Kuthiraivaal', the tale of a horse's tail turns out to be an unforgettable head trip". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "Kuthiraivaal teaser: Kalaiyarasan, Anjali Patil's film is all things surreal". Cinema Express. 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "பா.இரஞ்சித் வெளியிடும் குதிரைவால்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 31 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Kuthiraivaal becomes the first Indian film to premiere at Berlin critics week". The Times of India. 27 January 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Kalaiyarasan's next, Kuthiraivaal, to be screened at Berlin Critics Week". The Times of India. 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Kalaiyarasan [@KalaiActor] (4 March 2022). "#Kuthiraivaal releasing in theatres from March 18th in theatres" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022 – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ Girish, Devika (3 June 2022). "Five International Movies to Stream Now". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 "How 'Kuthiraivaal' directors Manoj and Shyam made a film about a man with a horse's tail". The News Minute. 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "Director Pa Ranjith presents magic realism film titled 'Kuthiraivaal'". The News Minute. 1 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Watch: 'Kuthiraivaal' teaser has Kaliyarasan as a man with a horse's tail". The News Minute. 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  12. ↑ "பா ரஞ்சித்தின் அடுத்த படத்தின் பெயர் வெளியானது!". Samayam Tamil (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  13. 1 2 "கேரள திரைப்பட விழாவில் குதிரைவால்". Dinamalar (in Tamil). 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  14. ↑ "Pa Ranjith's next production venture, Kuthiraivaal". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "பா.ரஞ்சித் தயாரித்த 'குதிரைவால்' கேரள சர்வதேச பட விழாவில் திரையிட தேர்வு!". Puthiyathalaimurai (in Tamil). 26 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "Mumbai Academy of Moving Image – ProgrammeDetail Site". mumbaifilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "Kalaiyarasan's 'Kuthiraivaal' selected for THIS prestigious film festival". The Times of India. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "MAMI releases its Official Selection List 2020 for Indian films". The Hindu. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  19. ↑ Rosario, Kennith (5 August 2020). "Mumbai Film Festival postponed to 2021". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "Pa Ranjith's production venture 'Kuthiraivaal' to premiere at IFKK". The News Minute. 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "'Kuthiraivaal' review: A psychedelic film that will confound you". The News Minute. 12 February 2021. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "Celebrating cinema, IFFK reaches Kochi". The Hindu. 16 February 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  23. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (4 March 2021). "Kuthiraivaal, Directed By Manoj Jahson And Shyam Sunder: A Surreal Experience About The Multiple Selves We Inhabit, With Kalaiyarasan And Anjali Patil". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "Kuthiraivaal Movie Review : Kalaiyarasan shines in this philosophical magic realism vehicle". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Kuthiraivaal Movie Review: An unusual, important arrival in mainstream Tamil cinema". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  26. ↑ S, Srivatsan (18 March 2022). "'Kuthiraivaal' movie review: There is very little 'movie' in this abstract and trippy experience". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
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