Eighty-year-old Karuppu Durai or KD, runs away from home to escape ill-treatment from his children, while eight-year-old Kutty, who was abandoned at a young age, grows up in a temple.
When these two characters meet, it is two hours of unbridled fun and that is what KD is all about.
The film explores the bond that develops between two unrelated people — the unhappy old man and the chirpy child. The boy, in a way, influences the man to relive life, and together, they make a bucket list of things KD wants to do before he dies. Kutty helps him in ticking off these one by one, starting from eating biryani , to dressing up like MGR. The film has some hilarious moments as the duo try to accomplish the wish list. KD even goes on to meet a crush from his youth.
“The film traverses through the friendship of KD and Kutty, who have made the street and the temple their home. This is not the conventional grandparent-grandchild story. When I listened to the story, I found it offbeat and intriguing. Although I have acted in plays as an old man, the character of KD was entirely new to me,” says Mu Ramaswamy, who plays KD.
- “It was my grandfather who inspired me to write the story. One morning, he called me and asked if I could take him to Indonesia and he was bed-ridden. I was awestruck by his desire for life and decided to write about life rather than death,” says Madhumita, who has earlier directed Vallamai Tharayo, Kola Kolaya Mundhirika, and Moone Moonu Varthai , which was also remade in Telugu as Moodu Mukkallo Cheppalante .
- “I have never touched upon the dark so far. My films are for families and about the everyday things in life. I believe I narrate the ordinary in an extraordinary manner and that is my style,” she says. “We did think of and approach a couple of people before zeroing on Mu Ramaswamy. And for Kutty, I wanted a kid who was unpretentious, lively, dark-skinned and with a rustic look. The kids I auditioned in Chennai did not meet my imagination and Naga Vishal came in as a perfect fit.” She adds: “ KD is a happy film and a racy entertainer.”
About 20 films old, Ramaswamy, a theatre personality based in Madurai, says that he is versatile enough to juggle the demands of theatre and cinema. “My on-screen chemistry with the little boy was fortunately perfect, and together, we pulled it off. The film takes a candid tone in terms of dialogues, screenplay and story. There is lots of comedy throughout.”
‘ Enakku naane TV, naane remote’, says Kutty in the film, suggesting how he is the one in charge of himself, since he was orphaned. “The boy says this line when KD narrates the ordeal in his family, which is in a way a mockery at fragile family bonds. Dialogues are minimal, yet retaining nativity with the rural slang,” says Ramaswamy.
S Naga Vishal, a Class VIII student from Madurai, has done the role of Kutty. “I was called for audition and the task was to wake up a man lying on the floor. I was casual in my approach and the director selected me. I never thought I would bag the role,” says Naga Vishal.
Shot in and around Tenkasi and Courtallam, the film has been directed by Madhumita and produced by Yoodlee Films of Saregama India Ltd.
