“Kummatty, a fantasy for children, is about a frightening bogeyman who arrives in a village and endears himself to its children. As a parting gift, he turns a group of children into animals and returns them to their original state. All but one, who remains a mongrel. The mongrel lives a dog's life, unable to adapt to the pedigreed home that a kind girl gives him. He returns to his village. His mother recognizes him, but all exorcism fails to restore him to his human shape. Finally, Kummatty returns and realises his mistake immediately. He turns the mongrel into the boy he was. The boy runs home and immediately frees his pet parrot kept in a cage. The actors are almost all from the village, and the children particularly act with remarkable ease.
“Kummatty is played by Ramunni, a well-known musician and dancer. This, his first screen appearance, is a powerful one. The film's music is strikingly different.
“It is necessary to understand the songs because they convey much of the film's use of local myth. The most unusual feature in the film is the identification of children with animals and with fantasy.”