User reviews

Kaaka Muttai - the pizza 'dream'

simple realistic but brilliantly shot movie! Simply excellent!

GV Prakash gave one of the best BGMs in recent times, lifting the whole essence of the movie. The lead characters - played by two boys, did excellent in showing realism! Everyone acted to the script and nothing went haywire.

Very great to see the whole theater went into applause after the climax Good to see the appreciation this has received.

Easily the Best of 2015!!

Note: Simbu on screen after a long long time!!

Go and watch in theaters don't miss this gem!

What a movie,no words to praise.Simple movie yet a lot of emotions and funny sequences.That two kiddos brilliantly acted.I liked the climax scene.I didn't expect such a climax scene.Both the kids 'Ramesh' and 'Vignesh' are outstanding and have won the National Award for their performance in the movie. 'IshwaryaRajesh' who acted as the mother of the brothers is a revelation and she reminds us those dark-talented heroines of 'BaluMahendra' films. The supporting cast of RameshThilak, 'Yogi', 'BabuAntony' are aptly cast and grab our attention. Only drawback I have noticed is the bgm's.The film lacks a catchy background music.

I went to watch this movie under the influence of good reviews and had fairly high expectations. This movie just stood to this test.

I would call this story as euphemism - a harsh reality presented in a mild way. Though the story is about two slum kids and the problems they face owing to their poverty, no fuss is made about their craving. Instead it takes shape of a story of their hard work and dedication to fulfill their desire. It manages to touch your heart.

Direction is just superb which is assisted by some catchy music. The combination of the story of slum dwellers with some peppy music reminded me of slumdog millionaire.

Watch it. Such movies are hard to come by.

To the average viewer this might just be another really good movie. But others who catch the absolutely brilliant subtext throughout the movie will thoroughly enjoy it while at the same time introspect how we never stop to contemplate the miserable inequality in the country in our busy lives(even if we are aware of it and find it woeful, visuals always remind us how bad it really is). It will definitely change the outlook of a lot of people on equality, privilege and related things.

The movie follows the life of two slum kids as they aspire to eat from the new pizza shop opened next to their home(if you can call it one). The movie captures their journey as they try to make the money needed for the pizza and the eventual turn of events. The movie beautifully captures the glaring social inequality without you having to cry through it. The movie addresses a lot of issues too in the most subtle manner. There is no dearth for humor either which makes this movie a complete package though it is a bit saddening that we need to look for humor in this movie. And all the actors have done a brilliant job. Kudos to Iyshwarya Rajesh who has gone out of her comfort zone to give a brilliant performance. As for the title you'll figure it out yourself. This is a must watch movie.

A very well made movie.

Loved the soft theme of the film. Very different from the usual "formula" movies made in Tamil. All the actors and technical aspects of the film are very impressive and top notch. The story keeps picking up pace as the movie progresses and keeps the viewer on edge.

The lead kids have acted naturally. The other actors have performed their roles very well too.

The background score is very mature and lively. Songs have been inter-weaved in to the movie without the usual "escapistic"songs of an Indian film

Cinematography in this film is one of its very strong points. The angles and smoothness of the frames is amazing.

A very good movie... Some might find it slow.

Such a special movie. Having spent some time in the slums of Mumbai and seeing the kids and how they live with constant smiles and great humour amongst incredible poverty and hardship, this movie absolutely paints a perfect picture.

It is almost impossible for the privileged westerner to contemplate their lives but this movie really takes you deep into their daily, otherwise invisible, existence. The amazing subtext of this movie is that humans can find happiness and joy even in the most miserable of situations.

Sadly, it also shows how the poor can be completely ignored and humiliated by the "haves". Even worse, they are often used for the avaricious ends of the nefarious.

Fantastic acting, direction and cinematography makes this a very special movie.

This is a must see movie. It is both entertaining and deeply educational. 10 stars!

A simple movie with a simple thought with simple direction with simple little kids' wondrous performances..

The story revolves around two little boys living in the slum and their desire to taste Pizza. Vignesh and Ramesh who portrayed Periya Kakkamuttai and Chinna Kakkamuttai delivered excellent performances throughout the movie. Ishwarya Rajesh did a good job acting as their mother (i think she in her mid 20s). Babu Antony fared well, Yogi Babu & Ramesh Thilak did their comic role in a good way..

Thanks for Simbu (after a long time in a feature film) participating in this Dhanush's small venture.

Director M. Manikandan did an exciting job with his pen as well as his actions.. His direction was top notch. The camera which captured the reality (dirty slums) but was featured in a much attractive way (We cant even see this in normal movies at all). GVP delivered a good refreshing songs and were much more apt. The background score were also too good. The making was excellent.

overall a real fresh movie sparked with Scintillating performances.

Not to be missed..

Kakka Muttai one of the finest films ever made in Tamil film industry, the National award(for best children's film and child artist) given to this film is so totally justified.One moment i was having a hearty laugh and another moment in tears after watching the movie, i realised how blessed we people are and also very much sad that the editor of this movie MR.kishore te is no more he has done a wonderful job young talent taken away very soon. A BIG THANKS TO THE WHOLE TEAM OF KAKKA MUTTAI starting from director Mani, iswarya(who played the mother role), both the child artists(Ramesh & Vignesh) and Kudos to both Dhanush and vetrimaran for presenting this very simple yet beautiful film.when i decided to watch kakka muttai, i preffered to watch it from a very modest theatre and needless to say we have to adjust to a few settings like the evergreen BEEDI wielding smokers and KUDI MAGANGAL of our society but this time it was totally different After 30-40 mins in to the film.The man behind me who was a little bit drunk and constantly resorted to unnecessary hooting and clapping, suddenly become quiet and a few more moment i realised the whole cinema hall was quiet as if they were watching there own lives unfold in front of them in a BIG SCREEN.This is what good movies do to people no matter WHAT YOU ARE,WHO YOU ARE you get carried away

" You can not complete the Indian modern cinema panorama without considering movies from Southern India. My quest for quality cinema has taken a positive beating due to parenthood but this weekend was a lucky one where I choose to see The Crow's egg -Kaakkaa Muttai. I do not know Tamil and this review is based on subtitles.

I grew up in gateway of North East part of India ad mist the tea gardens of Darjeeling and my maternal family was from one such tea gardens. As you may know; there were lots of tribes in India and during one of these childhood visits I meet a young tribal man. I profoundly remember his name as Mongru as he befriended me as a child of 5 years old. He used to work as our part time domestic help and always had stories for me, mostly hunting. 'Mongru' had once told me that crow's meat tastes more bitter than Karela(bitter gourd). It was so yuck as a moment that I remember that line even now and writing down today. However, coming back to Kaakkaa Muttai – it puts up a grave social commentary from the angle of a cinema. The story is about two slums kids , brothers, known as elder crow and junior crow as their quest of protein (eggs) makes them steal eggs from the nest and gets them this nick name from the community kids. They dnt mind it at all and even call's their slum home as crow's egg's house.Their act is also supported by their grand mother just because she knows that family can't afford the chicken eggs. The crow brother's father is in Jail and their mother works in a factory to meet ends & legal fees for their father's bail. As life would have it, crow brothers lands up to know about Pizza which sells at INR 300 & does what it takes to have a pizza. The rest of the film is a cinematic journey about the brother's quest to eat a pizza.

What makes Kaakkaa Muttai appealing as a cinema is its undercurrent and the flows. It puts forward to you the social issues we see every day but skilfully avoid. The film does take you on the journey of the brothers and their aging grand mother for the quest of the pizza. The film exposes you to child labour, politics, media , consumerism yet it does to lecture you. The cult innocence of the poor brothers who make 10 bucks a day by picking coal off the railway tracks steals your heart.

This genre is not new & critic can indeed say that highlighting poverty does not end it. But I wondered Kaakkaa Muttai highlighted the bringing of innocence verses the social imbalance beautifully. This film did indeed remind me of I am Kalam because of close synergies of the casting of leads child actors & back drop but overall both films are brilliant and different. It's a must watch if you like to watch a good cinema & I intentionally avoided the term off beat; as this word depends on which side of fence you are really.

But then - I concluded, I thought over & now I know why 'Mongru' tasted that bitter crow's meat. It just took me thirty years to find it. Thank you Kaakkaa Muttai."

India is the world's largest film producer, but when it comes to the international standards, it falls short. They make movies for the domestic market only, just like the largest mango producer in the world and consumes it all with a 1% export rate. Even small countries that have no big market like India competes with the European standards. But in the recent times the changes have been seen, lots of parallel cinemas are made; is what called alternate to the masala films (mixed genres). The young generation supporting it, both from the audience and the filmmaker.

The sad thing is they're choosing a wrong movie to represent the country in the Oscars, so as a result ending up with a disappointment every time. I thought last year they failed to pick 'The Lunchbox' as similar to this one for this year. I don't know whether they would have won the trophy, but these films need to be recognised in a big stage like that. Making into the final five reveals all the India films are not random musical beats. So my point is India missed the bus to the venue Dolby Theatre Hollywood, LA, USA for the second consecutive time.

This film feels like a feather fallen out of the British film 'Slumdog Millionaire', but it was totally a different genre except sets in and about the slum kids. A simple story, yet very moving. Two young brothers go regularly to pick the crow's egg in an vacant site near their slum since they can't offer chicken eggs. When the place is bought by a largest pizza chain in the city to bring up their new branch, the kids fix their mind to taste their first pizza and put all the effort to make it happen. But again, they have to face all the odds and that's where the narration takes the turn before heading the end.

"I want pizza too, not dad."

Without the prior experience the two kids were so awesome in their performances. They two won the best child actor award at the Indian Academy Awards, including the film as the best children's movie of the year. The debutant director really did a great job, especially knowing there's no mass market for newcomers. I think the producers, Dhanush and Vetrimaran to appreciate for this movie to happen. No doubt why it did better at foreign markets than the local. Especially Kollywood does good in the East and Southeast Asia, unlike Bollywood that dominates Europe and North America.

You know why this little film is a must see, because Indian films are known for different standards to the rest of the world, but when they make one out of their comfort that puts automatically a must watch. That's not the only reason, there are hundreds of themes yet to explore in Indian cinema and this is one of that. Like the two cute movie characters and their one innocent task, the scenes and music were well supported throughout.

Some of the domestic issues that India is suffering from long back like the social status brought into the light with this. There's no equal respect in society for all the communities, only it is judged by their lifestyle. Most of the third world's social backward is only for this reason and obviously the lack of basic education. So it is really good when a movie is not only identified for its entertainment, but the message it carried out. It is an adorable, smart, funny, emotional, enjoyable family movie and one of the best of 2015 other than the Hollywood's or English language films. In the world cinema fanatic circuit, Indian films is the least followed, but this one is not to be missed.

9.5/10

The movie is OK, but not worth the hype. There are better movies of the same theme.

The award was a good ad for the movie. Most jokes are gross, the movie seems long, boring.

The theme maybe great or new for people who never even thought or read about slum kids, overall a 'average boring social themed' movie made great by awards and media hype.

My friend said me not to go for this movie, but i went based on newspaper reviews. After 20 minutes i understood why my friend advised me not to go.

Kaakkaa Muttai Is a soul touching story of two little boys living in the slums of Chennai city. The story follows the daily lives and the routine hardships endured by kids along with their single mother and grandmother living together in a tiny house, sans any decent facilities. The story takes a bizarre turn when the kids wish to have a pizza in a newly constructed nearby outlet.

The beauty of Kaakkaa Muttai lies in its collage of simple characters, whom we come across in our everyday life but never pay any attention about them. Director Manikandan's presents us a barrage of painful moments endured by the characters, like a seasoned painter using rare acrylic colours on a canvas. Full credit to the cinematographer for his presence of mind in capturing the slums with a rustic beauty beyond imagination. Screenplay must be appreciated for its usage of humour in a rather interesting way that I have rarely come across before. Music by GV Prakash Kumar adds soul to Kaakkaa Muttai. Production design, makeup and costumes are all very good and takes Kaakkaa Muttai to a much higher level than it is. Sync sound makes a great difference to the movie and adds a certain flavour to the storytelling.

Actors are just outstanding with the best being Aishwarya Rajesh whose terrific performance as a single mother deserves a thunderous applause. The kids, their grandma and the two local goons played by Yogi Babu and Tilak add the necessary Vibrance to Kaakkaa Muttai.

Overall the artistry in the actors performance and the dedication to the project by both the cast & crew aided by a great visionary director makes Kaakkaa Muttai a great treat to watch and will be remembered for a long time. A must watch movie for all audiences across the world to understand that everyone will have their desires no matter however small or poor they are. Two Thumbs up.

This is by far the best Tamil film of the year, kudos to the Director Manikandan who has dealt with a number of social issues in a serious way but the humour is never far away. Congratulations to the Producers and the production team. The film juxtaposes the new reality namely - globalisation, international food trends etc next to the have not whose family combined earnings is hardly fifty cents a day. There is a greedy world out there trying to exploit the very little they have. The brothers who have a very strong family bond between themselves, their mother and grandmother amidst the poverty is the most positive memory that you remember well after the film. Watch it in a cinema, people behind the film need our support.

Kaaka Muttai is the Story of 2 brothers. All they want is just to buy a Pizza by their own money. The movie is not just about buying a pizza but all about childhood and celebrating every little thing. The screenplay has been written very smartly by Manikandan & it directly touched our heart.

Not just the 2 child actor acted brilliantly but also Aishwarya Rajesh as the mother & Shanthi Mani as the grandmother were loving to watch.

It won Best Children's Film and Best Child Artist (Ramesh and Vignesh) at 2015 National Film Awards.

Watch this if you haven't watched it yet I'm assuring you'll love it.

Available on Disney+ Hotstar Free.

© MandalBros.

The elder slum boy walks away in slow motion from the half eaten pizza offered to him by his well off friend. His determination and the cinematic aura that he is given is priceless.

The movie starts off on a pretty interesting note as well. Many gimmick free genuine moments.

Both the kids have acted very well, as has Aishwarya as their mother.

The social inequalities, and how unaware the upper layer is about the lower layer is brought out nicely. There is a subdued insensitivity that has the potential to turn dangerous any time during the movie. If you are completely blind to the emotions/value of other people, you can harm them without remorse.

I had to revise my rating of the movie from 8 to 9 to 10 as I went back to this movie over and over. Must watch!

Two young brothers, living in a Chennai slum area are attracted by the TV advertisement of a pizza outlet. The story is about how the two boys save up enough money to savour the taste of their dream cuisine, despite their destitute existence. The two boys usually eat crows' eggs as a snack, thus naming each other 'Periya Kaaka Muttai' and 'Chinna Kaaka Muttai' respectively. Their roles are played by child actors Ramesh and Vignesh, who would later go on to win the National Film Award for Best Child Actor in 2015. Aishwarya Rajesh excels as the boys' mother who saves every little penny she can, to bail her husband out of jail. Shanti Mani as the boys' grandma is endearing. Ramesh Thilak and Yogi Babu get themselves into a sticky situation related to the boys' quest for pizza and give us something to laugh about. The film won the National Award for Best Film in 2015,and is worth watching for those who enjoy children's movies.

This movie is not your typical South Indian masala movie. This movie is "realistic" like Majid Majidi movies (Iranian movie director). I respect and applaud the director and the producer of the movie for making such realistic movie in India. Compared to the 90's Indian audience are much more mature now. The movie is nothing short of a masterpiece. From acting to direction to screenplay everyone have done an excellent job. I wish that everyone gets a chance to watch and enjoy this great movie.

Such a beautiful movie feel good characters childhood memories and there acting is awesome maybe this type of moment in everyone's life maybe not exactly but something like this and mother character also beautiful everyone did there best

Super movie You m'ait watch it Very inspiratioanel.

One of the Best film from this year You can watch this movie with your family.

Now I want to rat pizza 🍕

Beautiful movie, brilliant acting.

Played really well by two kids. Great plot and execution

Dealing with an undercurrent of serious issues prevailing in the society, 'Kaakkaa Muttai' had all the scope in the world to be a emotional pot-boiler loaded with full of melodramas. But this is where director Manikandan stands apart and keeps us engrossed & entertained throughout the film without taking sides to openly preaching anything. The director consciously made the line of demarcation between commercial cinema and off-beat ones in to a very thin one with this film which works wonders on screen. So people who are a bit skeptical about watching a critically acclaimed, award winning film in a theater, just don't hesitate to get inside the cinema halls as these 2 kids(chinna and periya kaakaa muttais) will keep you entertained throughout and make full justice to the bucks you spent. Dhanush and Vetrimaran should be applauded for backing this film as producers. Every single character in this film did a wonderful job. JUST GO FOR IT...

Movie was super. There was no lag, the movie travelled well.

Acting by everyone was excellent. Kudos to the director.

More movies like this should come in the future.

Movie was heaps better than the big stars movie which only disappoints the audience.

I as a Tamils have learned a lot to understand how some part of my community lives. very eye opening script and location.

Makes me proud as a Tamils to watch this movie.

overall it is a excellent movie. thanks to the team who made this movie.

please make more of these types of movies in the future. thanks