Vetrivel Chandrasekar’s ‘Kaal Kattu’ web series turns the spotlight on the lingering love between couples

It could be a small gesture — cooking up a meal for your partner, but it’s an expression of love, declares Vetrivel Chandrasekar, writer and director of the web series Kaal Kattu that has completed a whopping 50 episodes and has now entered a third season. “Especially, if you are a vegetarian and take the pains to dish out non-vegetarian fare which your partner loves,” he laughs. In one of the episodes titled ‘Kari Soru’, Vetri showcases this cute moment between a couple. “The husband makes grand Sunday plans and cooks non-vegetarian just for his wife while he settles for curd rice!”

Why should any entertainment series on the husband-wife relationship be always about squabbles and mean jokes, asks Vetrivel who set out to break the cliché with a refreshing take that puts the spotlight on the lingering love that binds the couple. The web series streams on his YouTube channel Black Pasanga. “Recently, our channel got the silver badge award from YouTube for reaching a milestone in subscription. We r̥crossed over two lakh and all our videos have got more than one million plus views,” he says. The series, shot beautifully within the four walls of a room showcases everyday happenings but with a positive take on how fights between couples can also be healthy.

He describes Kaal Kattu as the love story between two people. The episodes are a compilation of his own experiences and the ones his friends had shared with him. “Kari Soru is what one of my friends, a girl, experienced after her marriage. The series unfolds from a women’s perspective and ensured that the screenplay showed them both as equals in the relationship and not as one pitted against the other.”‘

Talking about Amma Returns, one of the episodes that went viral, he says it starts off with an old woman visiting a couple who starts complaining from the word go. “While viewers presume that it’s the mother-in-law finding fault with the daughter-in-law, the surprise is that it’s a mother-daughter and the one playing truce is the son-in-law. Episodes about a childless couple, a wife discovering a past love of her husband through his diary and so many others became big hits.”

Vetri is proud of the fact that the series became a trendsetter of sorts. “Kaal Kattu gave me and my team, including the actors, an identity and opened doors of opportunities. I am working on a script on the lines of Kaal Kattu for Hotstar,” says Vetri.

Vetri has written scripts for over 3,000 episodes for popular Vijay TV serials including Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal and Saravanan Meenakshi to name a few. He is also the screenplay writer of new serials like Raja Rani (Part 2) and Thenmozhi BA. He has also written and directed another series called Ganja for the OTT platform YUV app. Vetri was also nominated in the best writer category in the recently concluded Vijay Television awards.

Vetri also assisted director Cheran earlier. Some of his upcoming works include screenplay and dialogue writing for the upcoming sequel Pizza 3 of the popular Pizza franchise and a breakup story series for the digital platform.

Says Vetri, “Digital media has revolutionised entertainment. Anyone can tell a story with minimal budget and lesser-known actors as long as the content is good. Another great plus is that the medium is interactive and connects with the audience at an intimate, personal level. ”