Filmmaker Madhumita returns with KD, an emotional narrative about the friendship between an old man and a child
Filmmaker Madhumitha who is known for her award-winning debut film Vallamai Tharayo is back with her fifth feature film KD, produced by Yoodlee Films. The Tamil movie follows an 80-year-old man who finds a friend in a 10-year-old boy. Both of them embark on an adventurous journey in an attempt to tick off everything on the man’s bucket list.
KD or Karuppadurrai has been in a coma for over three months, so his family plans to euthanise him. But he wakes up unexpectedly, overhears his family’s plans for him and decides to make a run for it. The story follows KD’s escape and his encounter with Kutty, who helps him live a life like never before. Talking about why she chose this subject, Madhumita says, “About four years ago, I read an article in the newspaper about thalaikoothal, a cultural practice of euthanasia for old people. I wanted to make a film on this subject. I have always made feel-good films, so I couldn’t find a positive angle about such a dark subject. I finally found inspiration in my 94-year-old grandfather who had an injury and wasn’t able to move on his own, but wanted to travel. Despite being bedridden, he was willing to live and fight death, and I had found an angle to my story.”
KD wants to live, travel and eat biryani. And with Kutty’s help he experiences everything. “It’s a very unique and fun friendship between the two. We usually see such characters as a grandfather and a grandchild, but in this story, they are equals,” she explains.
Veteran theatre and film actor Mu Ramaswamy plays KD and debutant child artiste Nagavishal portrays the role of Kutty. “Mu Ra has always played bold and strong characters. To cast him as a helpless and fragile old man was a big challenge for me because his physiology and body language are quite the opposite. We then had a 10-day workshop with both the lead characters to build chemistry between them,” offers Madhumitha who has taken the film to festivals such as Asian American International Film Festival and Tasveer South Asian Film Festival.
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