The story of a single father Amudhavan and his daughter Pappa is told in chapters. Amudhavan works in Dubai while his wife Stella lives in India with their 14-year-old daughter Pappa who has a muscular health condition making her dependent to carry out daily functions. One day, Stella writes to Amudhavan asking him to take care of their daughter and leaves her family and runs away leading to Amu moving back home after 10 years to raise Pappa as a single father. Amu finds it difficult to connect with Pappa having lived abroad for so long. They are shunned by their neighbours because of Pappa's health condition. They move in to his brother's house to live with his family and Amu's mother but his sister-in-law, irrationally fearing her own child will catch Pappa's "illness" asks them to move out. Amu returns home with Pappa where he continuously fights with some locals trying to force him to sell the house and leave the neighbourhood. Pappa and Amu slowly start bonding. One night when Pappa begins menstruation, Amu helps a panicked Pappa relax and seeks help from a woman named Vijaylakshmi. Vijaylakshmi offers her help in return for basic needs and starts living with Amu and Pappa. Gradually, Viji and Amu become closer and marry. However, Viji's motives are revealed when she tries to kill Pappa by pushing her into a well only to be stopped by Amu. Amu discovers Viji is already married and was pretending to help them to gain ownership of his house. A dejected Amu leaves the house to Viji and moves away. Having received no money, he is forced to leave Pappa at home while he goes to work. Pappa falls sick and the doctor diagnoses her with a fungal infection. She also refers Amu to Dr. Dhanapal who advises him to let Pappa stay at a special home for others with her health condition. Amu agrees with a heavy heart. On his way home he meets a trans-woman named Meera and they develop a bond. Meera helps him find a house. A few days later, while visiting Pappa, Amu discovers that Pappa was beaten by some workers at the home. He brings her back and seeks Dr. Dhanapal to understand more about Pappa's condition and her needs. Feeling helpless, Amu decides to end his and Pappa's lives and the two walk into the sea at night but are saved by Meera. The last chapter of Amuvadhan's story is about great love as he reveals that Meera taught him about love and the two are married. Pappa stays happily with her loving father and step-mother, Meera.
developed the script with Mammootty in mind six years before he narrated it to the actor during early 2015. His regular composer Yuvan Shankar Raja with cinematographer Theni Eeswar were confirmed from then. In July, Sadhana, the child artiste from his 2013 film Thanga Meengal, was cast. After P. L. Thenappan was signed on to produce the film under his banner Shree Raajalakshmi Films, and Anjali was cast for the female lead, Ram announced the title Peranbu in January 2016 beginning through a first look poster. Before filming, Ram stated that the film's theme is "compassion" and Mammootty plays a family man who "rediscovers himself," while Sadhana plays his daughter, and Anjali the wife. Principal photography commenced on 6 January 2016 in Kodaikanal and was planned to be shot in two schedules, with the next being in Chennai. Mammootty and Sadhana's scenes were shot in January end. A lead role is portrayed by Anjali Ameer, a transsexual model from Kerala, in her feature film debut. For the role, the makers searched until 1 March 2016. She was selected with an audition, after Mammootty noticed a television report about her and suggested her name to Ram. The second shooting schedule was held in and around Chennai from July to September. In mid-2016, the team planned to make a Malayalam version of the film on Mammootty's suggestion. Suraj Venjaramoodu joined the new version playing Mammootty's friend. The dubbing and other post-production began from January 2017. By September, Yuvan Shankar Raja composed all the songs and started working on the film score.
Music
The soundtrack album and film score are composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The audio was launched on 15 July 2018 at the Kalaivanar Arangam auditorium, Chennai. It received positive response.
Release
The trailer and poster for worldwide release launched on 5 January 2019. The film premiered at the 47th International Film FestivalRotterdam, Netherlands on 27 January 2018. It was later screened at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival, China on 17 June 2018. In January 2018, Ram stated that the film would have theatrical release in the summer of 2018 after its film festival premiers, but it was delayed. It is scheduled to release on 1 February 2019, in theatres worldwide.
Reception
The film opened to positive responses from critics. Karthik Kumar of Hindustan Times rated the film 4.5/5 and called the film "a devastatingly beautiful intense emotional drama" and was all praise about Ram's direction and performance by Mammootty and Sadhana. The critic also noted that Peranbu is Ram's "quietest and most meditative and most rewarding film in years". Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute rated the film 4/5 and wrote that "the film that takes Tamil cinema to uncharted territories." Gautaman Bhaskaran rated the film 4/5 in his review for News 18 and described the film as an "extraordinarily sensitive portrayal of a father-daughter relationship." The critic however noted that the film "could have been far more powerful if it had been shorter and tighter." In his review for Film Companion, Baradwaj Rangan rated the film 3.5/5 and called the film Ram's "Least Angry, Most Moving Drama, and "in terms of tone, the closest he’s gotten to his guru, Balu Mahendra." Padmakumar K. of Malayala Manorama described the film as "a cinematic wonder that graces all aesthetics." Rating the film 4/5, Haricharan Pudippedi from Firstpost called the film "a devastatingly beautiful coming-of-age drama that is both poignant and equally depressing" and appreciated Mammootty's role as one of his most matured performances. Rating the film as 'Good', film critic Veeyen affirmed that "..brilliantly performed, visually striking and deftly structured, ‘Peranbu’ is an avowal of a fortune that we live with every day, and a prompt to remain forever thankful for the miracle called life."
