Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa: Director Balaji Mohan says anthologies will stay as an option for feature films

After the success of Putham Pudhu Kaalai, creators are back again with another set of anthologies that tells stories of love, hope, resilience, and humanity, set during the second lockdown in India. The much-awaited five-episode of Tamil series Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa features Aishwarya Lekshmi, Arjun Das, Dhilip Subbarayan, Gouri G Kishan, Joju George, Lijomol Jose, Nadiya Moidu, Nirmal Pillai, Sananth, and TeeJay Arunasalam, and are directed by Balaji Mohan, Halitha Shameem, Madhumita, Richard Anthony and Surya Krishna.

The filmmakers believe anthologies are here to stay and the upcoming series will win over the hearts of the audience and carry the baton forward. Madhumita, director of Mouname Paarvayaai, thinks the trend to make anthology movies has gone theatrical with Halitha's film Sillu Karuppatti, which was before the COVID-19 and it will continue even after the pandemic. "As far as creating movies during the pandemic is concerned, films tell you the time that we live in and this movie has different stories from different perspectives. Even if we watch the OTT platform format, episode formats are doing well. So, if we look at the anthologies, there is something for everyone in it, no matter what kind of audience you are,” she said in a statement.

Balaji Mohan, director of Mugakavasa Mutham, believes anthologies are a great way to put different stories in one place, set under one theme or idea. He calls it a healthy trend with many filmmakers wanting to tell their stories but it is very important to keep in mind, the time when you will be releasing the film because of the state of mind of the audience they are in. "Sometimes, a film won't do well if the audience's taste is changed, we need to be very keen on judging that thing before the release. The moment episodic viewing and series viewing become normal, anthologies will also stay because it's an option for audiences other than a feature film," he said adding that he always wanted to do films in all formats. He says the next format to look out for is reels, 'all because that is catching up now'.

Each story in Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa… is standalone but revolves around the theme of hope and new beginnings through human connection. The episodes in the second instalment of the Tamil anthology include Mugakavasa Mutham, directed by Balaji Mohan features Gouri Kishan and TeeJay Arunasalam; Loners, directed by Halitha Shameem, featuring Lijomol Jose and Arjun Das; Mouname Paarvayaai, directed by Madhumita, featuring Nadiya Moidu and Joju George; Nizhal Tharum Idham, directed by Richard Anthony and featuring Aishwarya Lekshmi and Nirmal Pillai; and The Mask, directed by Surya Krishna, which features Sananth and Dhilip Subbarayan. 

The five-part anthology is set to premiere this Pongal, 14 January on Amazon Prime Video in India and more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.