Movie Review: Soodhu Kavvum (Tamil)

Some movies that come without much fanfare do strike a chord with the masses when they break loose from convention and daringly try to attempt something different. Especially for the audience who have been treated with endless masala films for decades, this noir comedy thriller from Nalan Kumarasamy is refreshing and further proof that content is the ultimate hero of a film. To add further, Soodhu Kavvum is one the rare movies I've had great fun watching.

Taking a classic case of a 'kednapping' (read: kidnapping) gone wrong, director Kumarasamy gives the whole story a touch of black humour that leaves you in splits for the complete run time, that too by not resorting to double entendres or any sort of cheap vulgarity whatsoever. Soodhu Kavvum revels in its unabashed amorality; no preaching, no sermonizing, and almost all the characters, including the protagonists, are projected in such a bad light that you gleefully get along with them in their botched adventure.

The performances from the ensemble cast is fantastic, and the film boasts of a strong technical backing in terms of cinematography, screenplay, editing, songs and the background score. There are so many standout moments in the movie that it's really hard to pick and choose: be it the crazy intro scene where a parking valet turned vetti paiyaan gets ready and spends the whole day boozing while ranting about the stuff in newspapers, or the first kidnapping sequence which turns out to be a total washout, or the hilarious undercurrent in the ensuing madness notably after the entry of psycho inspector Brahma, all make for a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

The pace slackens a bit in the second half, but make no mistake. It's movies like these that are breaking new grounds in Tamil cinema, and makers like Kumarasamy and Karthik Subbaraj (of Pizza fame, in a cameo as well in SK) who are the vanguards of change! And I'm happy they are being welcomed with open hands!