Kuttrame Thandanai

Ravi, a man with tunnel vision, works as a collection boy at a credit card collection office. Anu is his senior officer and a close friend. Ravi lives in a housing colony surrounded by many flats. He lives on the first floor, and opposite his house on the ground floor lives Swetha, a young woman who appears to be modern and carefree. Ravi always watches her from his balcony and sometimes watches her secretly. A few men often visit her. One of them is her boss Vijay Prakash, who brings her a gift on his birthday. The other seems to be her boyfriend Arun. One day, Ravi sees Arun angrily leaving Swetha's house and stares at him as he drives away.

Ravi is getting treatment for his eye condition, and his doctor says his condition could only get worse in the future and needs an eye transplant, which would cost him ₹3,20,000. As he does not have enough money, he tries to apply for a loan from his boss, but it is rejected.

One night, Ravi sees Vijay coming out of Swetha's house with a panicked expression, then suddenly gets back inside and locks the door. Ravi gets suspicious, goes down, and enquires Vijay about Swetha. He calls him inside and shows him Swetha, who is lying dead in a pool of blood. Ravi assumes that Vijay has killed Swetha and gets angry, but Vijay offers him a deal to remain quiet, despite claiming that he did not kill her, and if his name is involved in her death, then it may affect his name and business in society. To cure his eye condition, Ravi agrees to remain quiet and takes ₹3,20,000 from Vijay.

Ravi visits the hospital to pay for his treatment, but is told that the full amount for surgery will be ₹4,82,000 instead of ₹3,20,000 due to some miscellaneous charges. Disappointed, Ravi calls Vijay for more money, but he refuses to pay any more, saying that their deal is over. Meanwhile, the police start investigating and questioning everyone in the colony, and finally visit Ravi's house. He initially says he does not know anything, but as he is angry at Vijay for not giving him money, he informs the police that he saw a man near Swetha's house on the night of the murder.

The police takes him to the station and begin to enquire. At the same time, Arun is in the station applying for anticipatory bail, saying he never knew anyone named Swetha. Ravi identifies Arun as the man he saw on the night of the murder to the police, and Arun is considered the prime suspect. Ravi tries to contact Vijay Prakash again, but his phone is switched off. With Anu's help, he gets his number and meets him again, threatening to inform the police, and makes another deal, this time for ₹2,00,000.

Ravi goes to the hospital again and is informed that his name is registered for surgery, is on the waiting list to get a suitable donor, and that he must wait for a long time. Frustrated, Ravi shouts at the hospital employees. An employee tells him that if he pays ₹5,00,000 extra as a bribe, his name will be pushed up the order and his surgery will take place soon.

Ravi does not know what to do. One night, he is met by Balan, who was sent by Arun's advocate, and who offers him a deal to remain quiet in the court, as Ravi is the only witness in this case. Ravi agrees to a deal of ₹ 5,00,000, but Arun's side offers him only Rs. 1,00,000 as an advance, with the remaining money payable after the hearing of the case. Ravi half-heartedly agrees and takes the one lakh.

While walking back home, Ravi is attacked by a stranger. Ravi guesses that it must be Vijay's work and visits him. He threatens Vijay, saying that he will reveal everything to his family if he does not agree to his deal, and demands ₹ 25,00,000. Enraged, Vijay shouts at him, saying that he did not kill Swetha, but eventually agrees to pay Ravi and also confesses that he had an affair with Swetha.

In court, Arun is cross-examined by the judge, and he too says he had a relationship with Swetha but argued and left when she brought up marriage. Ravi falsely states that he saw Arun on the day of the murder and withholds the fact that she was seen alive after he left. The judge announces the verdict of life imprisonment and a fine for Arun as the killer. Arun's lawyer and father are shocked. Ravi returns ₹1,00,000 to them and returns home. His house owner asks him to vacate his house for a relative, so he starts packing his things. Meanwhile, Anu has been fired for helping Ravi find Vijay's number.

Ravi has a secret mobile phone with a photo of him and Swetha as the wallpaper. It is then revealed that Ravi and Swetha were in a relationship, and Swetha began avoiding Ravi after knowing about his eye condition. She also turns out to be unfaithful, sleeping with many men for her pleasure and profit. This enrages Ravi, and he asks her to come with him, and he is ready to accept her. She refuses and insults Ravi, so he kills her in a fit of rage and escapes.

Finally, Ravi is met on the road by the lady doctor who initially diagnosed him with this eye condition. She tells him that his condition is indeed incurable and that he will become blind despite an eye transfer. She was forced to lie to him because of the hospital pressure and leaves.

Ravi is heartbroken and regrets making a big mistake. Some years later, Ravi has moved to Kolkata. He is completely blind and has married Anu, who is pregnant. The film ends by showing that Ravi's mistakes were indeed the punishment.

Manikandan had committed to direct Kutrame Thandanai produced by the brothers of actor Vidharth, before the director had made Kaaka Muttai (2015). The film's shoot began production in October 2014 with Vidharth and Pooja Devariya portraying the lead roles.^[2] Manikandan then approached actress Aishwarya Rajesh to portray an interesting role in the film, and though the actress initially turned down the offer, she later chose to feature in the film.^[3] Ilaiyaraaja was signed on to compose the film's background music.^[4] The film was shot over a period of 33 days in Chennai and Kolkata.^[5]

Kuttrame thandanai was rerecorded by Ilaiyaraaja and the background score was recorded in Prasad Studios, Chennai.

Prior to its theatrical release, the film premiered at a few international festivals, including the New York Indian Film Festival and Mumbai International Film Festival.^[6][7][8] The film had a worldwide theatrical release on 2 September 2016 and received critical acclaim. Behindwoods.com noted that it was a "technically sound thriller film", while Rediff.com noted "despite the ordinary performances, the gripping plot, engaging screenplay and care to technical details make director Manikandan's Kutrame Thandanai an interesting watch".^[9][10] A critic from The New Indian Express wrote "with its mature unconventional take on a crime scene, and its international feel and sensibility, Kuttrame Thandanai does Tamil cinema proud", adding that Manikandan displays "out-of-the-box-thinking, an intriguing screenplay and deft narration".^[11] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Tamizh. Baradwaj Rangan of the Hindu called it "Thoughtfully made, but something's missing" in his review.^[12]