Kuttram 23

Set in the present-day Chennai metro area, the film adopts a contemporary crime-thriller tempo. Modern forensics, CCTV footage, and digital patient records drive the investigation, reflecting current investigative practices. The story also engages with contemporary social issues surrounding fertility, media influence, and private hospital networks within an urban Indian context.

The narrative unfolds across urban Chennai, anchored by the St. Thomas Church in Villivakkam and expanding to a fertility hospital and corporate-backed spaces nearby. Key scenes shift between a family home opposite the church, a bustling petrol bunk, and a landfill where bodies are discovered, underscoring the city’s layered geography. The contrast between sacred spaces, medical institutions, and crime scenes highlights the tension between public virtue and private vice in a metropolitan backdrop.

🧬 Bioethics

The plot probes the ethical limits of fertility technology, including artificial insemination, donor records, and the potential for manipulation. Women’s bodies become sites of pressure, blackmail, and moral conflict as medical procedures intersect with personal and familial ambitions. The story questions who bears responsibility when medical advances are misused for power or profit.

🕵️‍♂️ Investigation

A police investigation threads through a web of secrets, cross-referenced by hospital records, CCTV, and financial traces. Clues are hidden in watermark patterns, bank withdrawals, and anonymous tips, gradually revealing a broader conspiracy. The pursuit of truth forces characters to confront lies, complicity, and justice.

💔 Relationships & Shame

The film exposes social pressures around infertility, marriage, and reputation, showing how personal choices ripple into public scandal. Family dynamics, jealousy, and the fear of social judgment drive individuals toward drastic actions. Romance and trust emerge amid a climate of fear, risk, and the potential for betrayal.