Soodhu Kavvum is a remarkably entertaining film. The film's novelty lies in the fact that it does not dwell into the mental illness of its protagonist Das (Vijay Sethupathi has lived the character!), though everything that happens in the film might be related to his mental illness.
When an important character in a film is afflicted with some mental disorder the film usually takes its own time to unravel the fact. Aishwarya's 3 is a case in point. But in Soodhu Kavvum has Das starting of, acknowledging his mental disorder, how he sought medical help and how it did not do him any good. His gang are made aware of his disorder but still go ahead with him and accommodate this (quite humorously). Other than this, mental illness does not seem to affect the plot (till the epilogue may be). But Soodhu Kavvum looks at only a few months into Das' life in his forties. He is tired of smuggling, and has branched to kidnapping. He has perfected the craft and has his own 5 commandments, which seem to work so successfully. (The portion when the team executes kednapping is the most entertaining portion of the film). So what could have been left untold about Das as a person in the film?
This is shortly what happens in the film. When there is a big offer to kidnap a big fish, his teammates can not refuse, Das seems to avoid it as it violates his Rule #1 (Never touch a big shot). It reveals the fascination that kidnapping holds for him irrespective of the payoff (he switched careers for job satisfaction). But still goes ahead and involves himself in the risky assignment. Shalu who is always around Das during good times disappears after Das stops indulging in kidnapping but reappears only after Das is beaten to pulp by the police inspector. That is the last time she appears in the movie as Das' figment of imagination (Sa Ga song playing in the background has very good lyrics). It could very well mean that the beating some how affected Das' brain (flipped the disorder) that he got relieved of his 'kanavu kanni' and imaginary partner in crime.
During all times Das does not exhibit any negative quantity befitting a villan. He seems to have a weakness for kidnapping as kleptomaniacs compulsively steal things. He is not greedy; he does not extort huge sums; he shows empathy for his victims. But still he sometimes allows himself to get distracted and indulges in big kidnappings that are sure to bring him down. He specifically forbids such indulgences as his Rule #1, but breaks the rule anyway. The movie ends as Das restarts his career in kidnapping with a bunch of newbies, (while the previous batch get placed at various profitable careers) sticking to his 5 Rules, but he is still tempted to break Rule #1 (watch the movie to find out why). Thus the film basically starts over again.
Das does not seem to lie at any time in the movie. He even pleads guilty and surrenders to police. So from whatever we have seem of him - we can try to sum up who Das is. He probably is a smuggler turned kidnapper who had his share of failures till he perfected his craft with the 5 rules. He probably tried his hand at kidnapping a big shot and failed. Worse he could have been beaten badly that caused him the mental disorder. The movie would have made more sense if Das kidnapping Shalini chronologically preceded kidnapping Arumai Pragasam. That would have explained why Shalu hung out with him as his imaginary girl friend, (after a botched attempt like in Arumai's case), while the real Shalini walked away.
Shrewd, practical, risk averse and honest are words that you do not use to describe a kidnapper. But here he is - Das and a bit mental too! We do not find such interesting characters in Tamil films but the credit goes to the director Nalan Kumarasamy. The film is the most entertaining film I have seen in recent years and I will rate it alongside Alaipayuthey, Ghilli and Vettaiyadu Veliyadu as one of the best ever films. Watch it in theatre!
