Kolaiyuthir Kaalam (transl. Season of murders) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language horrorthriller film[1] directed by Chakri Toleti and produced by V. Mathiyalagan. A remake of the 2016 American film Hush, where a deaf and mute woman must fight for her life when a killer appears at her door. It stars Nayanthara, Bhumika Chawla, Pratap K. Pothen, and Rohini Hattangadi and began production in November 2016.[2] The film was released on 9 August 2019.[3][4] The film was a disaster at the box office.[5] The film was remade again by Toleti in Hindi as Khamoshi (2019), which released before this film.[6][7] It was Toleti's last film as a director.
Plot
Shruthi is a deaf and mute girl who grew up in an orphanage in Chennai. Impressed with her personality and talent, a millionaire from the UK adopts her and makes her his legal heir. When Shruthi arrives in London, after the death of her adopted mother, trouble arises in the form of a home invasion. A strange man chases Shruthi inside the bungalow after killing all of the houses staff, along with Anand, and also sets the will on fire. After being chased, Shruthi attempts to kill the man but Mrs. Anand steps in and shoots him. It is revealed that Mrs. Anand set up the attack in order to take all the assets for herself. When Shruthi refuses to agree to her demands, Mrs. Anand shoots her in the shoulder. The masked man wakes up and kills Mrs. Anand. The following day, the police show up while Shruthi is waiting. Paramedics take her into the ambulance, and the masked man is missing. When getting medical attention in the ambulance, the paramedic has a skull tattoo and Shruthi seems distraught. The film ends without showing if Shruthi dies and the true identity of the masked man remains undisclosed.
In mid-November 2016, Chakri Toleti began working on his fourth feature film, following the bilingual Unnaipol Oruvan (2009) and Billa 2 (2012). Nayanthara was selected to play the leading role, and it was revealed that the film would be a heroine-centric project.[8][9] A first look poster was subsequently released on 18 November 2016, coinciding with Nayanthara's birthday, with it being revealed that the film would mark the first production of venture of musician Yuvan Shankar Raja and the first Tamil film production for Pooja Entertainments' Vashu Bhagnani and Deepshikha Deshmukh. Later, Yuvan Shankar Raja and the other producers opted out of the project. V. Mathiyalagan of Etcetera Entertainment took over the production of the film. Tamannaah Bhatia reprised Nayanthara's role in the Hindi remake titled Khamoshi, which released on June 14, 2019.[10][11]
Release
The film was scheduled to release in India on 14 June 2019, but was delayed because the film shares its name with a novel by Sujatha, and director Balaji K. Kumar paid ₹10 lakh (equivalent to ₹12 lakh or US$15,000 in 2023) for the novel's rights. The plea for the film's release was held on June 21.[12] The film then went through multiple release date changes, before eventually being released on 9 August.[13][14]