Chennai. A slum. Two little boys. Clearing the land nearby and stirring their imagination, Pizza Spot opens up. And suddenly, all the multiple thought-bubbles that pop above their heads carry the subtext 'pizza'. But then, what if the cost of one pizza goes beyond the money they earn a month? For a movie that has such an affecting theme, debutant director M. Manikandan has opted for a tone that is pleasantly intriguing instead of dark with a bellowing BGM with the sound of doom.
From the very first frame, the movie determinedly speaks its own language, never resorting to borrowed lingo. Chinna kaakkamuttai and periya kaakkamuttai (the nick names given to the boys whose names aren't revealed) make an army of two to pursue the said goal before them. The more they lean towards that gooey cheesy pizza, the more we are made to stare at multiple factoids involving slum dwellers, value-deducted-cost-upped lives and adopting foreign taste-buds, in generic terms.

Kaakkamuttai is rare storytelling—deftly played up discrepancies layered on a fable-like story. Each frame is a stance; when 'chinna kaakkamuttai' (Ramesh) tells his older brother 'periya kaakkamuttai' gaping at City Centre Mall in Chennai that “there's no way we'll be let inside”, it is no revelation, but a social theory observed religiously with no real reasoning. You can read between the frames and chuckle at the antitheses within them. When a news reporter is covering a story on the slum, the camera person gestures the slum kids to not walk across the frame. A new TV, courtesy election campaign sponsored extravaganza, is greeted with much cheer in the slum house even when there is “no rice stocked at the ration shop this week”.
Both the boys, Vignesh and Ramesh bring this tale the veracity it demands. Vignesh is more stoic as the elder one that states the dictum, uncompromising and stubborn, while the little one, Ramesh oozes charm and impersonates innocence; with a split second puzzlement that washes over his face when his brother lies to their mother, to the sparkling smile that he flashes all the way, be it sunshine or rain – both of them have set new standards for child artists.

Iyshwarya Rajesh as the mother of two has made her presence felt; not a lot is uttered for the sake of it, and she has arranged her emotions very well. Ramesh Thilak looks effortless and comfortable against the slum backdrop. The grandmother of the two boys deserves a special mention. A permanent fixture of the house, she merges with the frames with startling ease; the scene where she tries to replicate a pizza on her dosa pan is so simplistic, it's priceless!
M. Manikandan has wielded the camera as well and the temperament of frames changes with the narration. Edited by the late Kishore Te sometimes frames take up the storytelling. G.V. Prakash's music plays to the mood set by the story with no overpowering background score anywhere.
Reminiscent of similar children's movies that have come, conquered and stayed on, Kaakka Muttai joins the league, and even rises above these categorisations. And the two Kaakka Muttais (the boys) with their unbreakable shells will stay on.
Rating: 4/5