English translation: Evil triumphs
Director: Nalan Kumarasamy
Story: Nalan Kumarasamy, Srinivas Kavenayam
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Sanchita Shetty, Karuna Karan, M.S. Bhaskar
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Time: 138 minutes
Bottom-line: A thrill ride with tons of comedy; a great family entertainer
Nalan’s debut film Soodhu Kavvum is a breakthrough film. Released along with other Tamil films Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal, Vishwaroopam, Chennaiyil Oru Naal etc, which had reputed directors/actors etc, Soodhu Kavvum, with a fresh cast, different type of story and lots of comedy make it my best 2013 film so far. Providing all the thrills and jokes at the right time, nearly every scene in the film is interesting. What makes Nalan’s debut feature so great? Read on…
The story revolves around Das (Sethupathi), who is a small-time kidnapper. He has an imaginary girlfriend called Shalu (Shetty). In a parallel track, three unemployed men, Pagalavan (Bobby Simha), Kesavan (Ashok Selvan) and Sekar (Ramesh Tilak) don’t know what to do with their lives. They accidentally meet Das at a bar-fight, and the four of them become friends. They learn about Das’ job as a kidnapper and about Shalu, and this disturbs all three of them. Eventually all three of them join Das’ team after seeing the kidnapping method followed by Das. Soon, a man, whose son Das kidnapped, calls Das and praises him for his effective kidnapping method. He requests Das to perform another kidnapping: Arumai Pragasam, the son of a Minister Gnanodayam (Bhaskar), for a reward of Rs. 2 crore. Das withdraws from the deal as kidnapping the children of political officials is against his policy. However, the deal is tantalizing, and so he accepts. However, plenty of twists and turns take place, and finally the kidnapping attempt goes bonkers and Arumai runs away with the money. Das and the others are determined to take revenge on Arumai. Meanwhile, Gnanodayam hires a murderous cop for finding the kidnappers. Whether or not Das’ gang take revenge on Arumai, and whether or nor the cop finds them before they can do so form the rest of the film.
The story is fantastic. Nalan has done well to put in a comedy track that doesn’t deter the main theme, and this is rare in films now-a-days. Comedy comes from dialogues and the incidents in the story. There are many catchy or ‘punch’ lines in the film. There are several incidents of comic tension in the film, and all the twists and turns add to the laughter. However, with a good story and great dialogues on one side, the acting in the film is average. Vijay Sethupathi is a fresh actor to Tamil cinema, and this film has given him lot of fame, but his acting is still average. Shetty’s role is stupid in a way. Few of us may have an imaginary friend like her, but she doesn’t do anything in the story except express Das’ thoughts aloud. I think Nalan added such a character because it has become almost mandatory that all Tamil films should have a heroine so that the viewers like the film.
The story provides all the thrills at the right times, as I said before. This film contains more of comic thrills and plenty of plot twists. The first half of the film is excellent, but the quality decreases in the second half. In the first half, we get to know about the unique kidnapping method followed by Das, and the plan he hatches to capture Arumai. Along with the comedy provided by the jobless trio, the film, till the interval, is very much entertaining. In the second half, the film becomes a touch violent, mainly because of the character of the ruthless cop. The comedy reduces, and the story becomes slightly boring compared to the first half. The song that comes in the second half need not have been included at all. However, the score is good, and the Soodhu Kavvum theme has become very famous.
The endings of the several tracks are excellent. On one track, we see how Das’ life turns out, and the ending of this track is slightly ambiguous. In the second track, we see how the lives of Kesavan, Sekar and Arumai turn out, and whether or not this ending is correct is up to the viewers (how Pagalavan’s life turns out is shown in a third track, but is not important here). However, in both these tracks, Nalan has chosen an ending that does justice to the film’s name. (This paragraph may contain spoilers). There is a phrase in Mahabharata, which can be translated as “sometimes evil wins over righteousness, but in the end, righteousness will always triumph’. Nalan has removed the word ‘righteousness’ and few other words from this phrase, and leaves us with the two words ‘soodhu kavvum’, meaning evil wins. This is the reason why I said that whether or not the ending is correct is up to the viewers to decide.
With an ingenious, thrilling and at the same time comic, plot, accompanied by plenty of twists and jokes, Soodhu Kavvum is a new type of Tamil cinema, unlike the usual drama films. People like me who want to see different type of Tamil films must watch this film. Watch this film for the pure entertainment it gives.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Director: Nalan KumarasamyStory: Nalan Kumarasamy, Srinivas Kavenayam
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Sanchita Shetty, Karuna Karan, M.S. Bhaskar
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Time: 138 minutes
Bottom-line: A thrill ride with tons of comedy; a great family entertainer
Nalan’s debut film Soodhu Kavvum is a breakthrough film. Released along with other Tamil films Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal, Vishwaroopam, Chennaiyil Oru Naal etc, which had reputed directors/actors etc, Soodhu Kavvum, with a fresh cast, different type of story and lots of comedy make it my best 2013 film so far. Providing all the thrills and jokes at the right time, nearly every scene in the film is interesting. What makes Nalan’s debut feature so great? Read on…
The story revolves around Das (Sethupathi), who is a small-time kidnapper. He has an imaginary girlfriend called Shalu (Shetty). In a parallel track, three unemployed men, Pagalavan (Bobby Simha), Kesavan (Ashok Selvan) and Sekar (Ramesh Tilak) don’t know what to do with their lives. They accidentally meet Das at a bar-fight, and the four of them become friends. They learn about Das’ job as a kidnapper and about Shalu, and this disturbs all three of them. Eventually all three of them join Das’ team after seeing the kidnapping method followed by Das. Soon, a man, whose son Das kidnapped, calls Das and praises him for his effective kidnapping method. He requests Das to perform another kidnapping: Arumai Pragasam, the son of a Minister Gnanodayam (Bhaskar), for a reward of Rs. 2 crore. Das withdraws from the deal as kidnapping the children of political officials is against his policy. However, the deal is tantalizing, and so he accepts. However, plenty of twists and turns take place, and finally the kidnapping attempt goes bonkers and Arumai runs away with the money. Das and the others are determined to take revenge on Arumai. Meanwhile, Gnanodayam hires a murderous cop for finding the kidnappers. Whether or not Das’ gang take revenge on Arumai, and whether or nor the cop finds them before they can do so form the rest of the film.
 |
| Sethupathi as Das (left) and Shetty as Shalu |
The story is fantastic. Nalan has done well to put in a comedy track that doesn’t deter the main theme, and this is rare in films now-a-days. Comedy comes from dialogues and the incidents in the story. There are many catchy or ‘punch’ lines in the film. There are several incidents of comic tension in the film, and all the twists and turns add to the laughter. However, with a good story and great dialogues on one side, the acting in the film is average. Vijay Sethupathi is a fresh actor to Tamil cinema, and this film has given him lot of fame, but his acting is still average. Shetty’s role is stupid in a way. Few of us may have an imaginary friend like her, but she doesn’t do anything in the story except express Das’ thoughts aloud. I think Nalan added such a character because it has become almost mandatory that all Tamil films should have a heroine so that the viewers like the film.
The story provides all the thrills at the right times, as I said before. This film contains more of comic thrills and plenty of plot twists. The first half of the film is excellent, but the quality decreases in the second half. In the first half, we get to know about the unique kidnapping method followed by Das, and the plan he hatches to capture Arumai. Along with the comedy provided by the jobless trio, the film, till the interval, is very much entertaining. In the second half, the film becomes a touch violent, mainly because of the character of the ruthless cop. The comedy reduces, and the story becomes slightly boring compared to the first half. The song that comes in the second half need not have been included at all. However, the score is good, and the Soodhu Kavvum theme has become very famous.
 |
| Selvan as Kesavan (left), Simha as Pagalavan (centre) and Tilak as Sekar |
The endings of the several tracks are excellent. On one track, we see how Das’ life turns out, and the ending of this track is slightly ambiguous. In the second track, we see how the lives of Kesavan, Sekar and Arumai turn out, and whether or not this ending is correct is up to the viewers (how Pagalavan’s life turns out is shown in a third track, but is not important here). However, in both these tracks, Nalan has chosen an ending that does justice to the film’s name. (This paragraph may contain spoilers). There is a phrase in Mahabharata, which can be translated as “sometimes evil wins over righteousness, but in the end, righteousness will always triumph’. Nalan has removed the word ‘righteousness’ and few other words from this phrase, and leaves us with the two words ‘soodhu kavvum’, meaning evil wins. This is the reason why I said that whether or not the ending is correct is up to the viewers to decide.
With an ingenious, thrilling and at the same time comic, plot, accompanied by plenty of twists and jokes, Soodhu Kavvum is a new type of Tamil cinema, unlike the usual drama films. People like me who want to see different type of Tamil films must watch this film. Watch this film for the pure entertainment it gives.
My Rating: 3.5/5
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