Kuthu was released on 14 April 2004 Tamil New Year [2] and became a commercial success. Ramya was credited in later Tamil films by her birth name Divya Spandana because she disliked the nickname "Kuthu Ramya" that emerged after the release of this film.[3]
Plot
Gurumoorthy "Guru" is a sociable boy from a middle-class family. He lives with his parents- a doting mother and a strict but well-meaning father- and a playful maternal uncle, Senthil. He enrolls at the VOC College of Arts and Sciences, and falls in love with Anjali, a fellow student, who doesn't reciprocate his affections.
Anjali's father is the rich and powerful gangster Veerabahu, who is extremely protective of his daughter to the point that he brutally beats up a boy at a temple for brushing past her by accident. A misunderstanding results in Guru being beaten up by Veerabahu's men, who suspect that he and Anjali are lovers. After this, he vows to win Anjali's love for real. In due course, she falls in love with him too. How the lovers stand strong in the face of Veerabahu's increasingly desperate attempts to separate them forms the rest of the story.
Ashok Raja as himself (cameo appearance in the song "Otha Viral Kattuna")
Production
The film was announced in September 2003.[4] Kannada actress Divya Spandana made her debut in Tamil with this film under the name "Ramya".[3] A song was picturised with the lead pair in studios with an erected set costing ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹35lakhorUS$37,000 in 2023) while another song was shot at Thirumayam Kottai near Karaikudi with Ramya Krishnan which took three days to complete. The fight scene was shot at SRM College Grounds for 10 days.[5] The songs were shot in Lebanon and Phuket, Thailand.[6][7]
Soundtrack
Soundtrack was composed by Srikanth Deva.[8][9] It marked the debut of Assamese singer Zubeen Garg as a playback singer for this Tamil film as well as his first South Indian film.
Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote, "A spirited youth falling in love with a local don's daughter and the hurdles he crosses... This subject has been hacked to death in quite a few films recently. That 'Kuthu' comes from the Telugu hit 'Dhil' is no excuse to push it down the throat of the viewers again!".[10]Cinesouth wrote, "Director VEnkatesh has whipped up a formula for commercial success. 'Kuthu' sticks to it".[11]Sify wrote, "For city slickers it is an ordeal to watch Kuthu meant strictly for the frontbenchers".[12]
