NOTE: AA / 90%
Soodhu Kuvoom is a black comedy based on themes of unemployment, kidnapping, blackmail, police brutality, fake encounters, and corruption, but not even for a split second does it forget that it is first and foremost a black comedy, and it never loses its manic energy. or his comedy sacrificed in handling his weight issues. The movie never breaks its ground rules, and even when you feel like it might veer off course at times, the story cleverly veers back from its original course. Take, for example, a scene in the film in which the four main characters are arrested on kidnapping charges and brought to court; that’s when you go “Oh no, now they’re going to spend the rest of the hour turning the movie into a silly courtroom drama”, but no, that’s when Soodhu Kuvoom hilariously reminds us that it won’t break its foundations, and that it’s being a comedy frenetic black.
So, in a humorous twist, the ‘victim’ (who is actually the mastermind who fakes his kidnapping, is actually kidnapped, colludes with his kidnappers and then slips up on them) denies that the four of them kidnapped him and the case is immediately dismissed. The tone of the film is both consistent and cautious, never forgetting how it should be presented, but getting its message across excellently. Bollywood films often have a tendency to forget the original tone of their projects very easily: a film that is extremely funny until the interval abruptly turns into a cloying melodrama after the interval to cater to sentimental audiences, and sensitive audiences are left behind. thinking, “Hey wait, wasn’t she watching a sitcom before going to the bathroom during intermission? Did the filmmakers flush her down the toilet to fart out of a silly melodrama all of a sudden?” Perhaps Bollywood could take a few lessons from Tamil movies like Soodhu Kuvoom and fix everything.
It’s safe to say that none of the men in Soodhu Kuvoom are saints, and they all explore, show their dark side, and play dirty to get their piece of the pie. But there is anguish and despair that drives them to take the shortcut to wealth and success. Our protagonist Das is an amateur kidnapper who is more afraid of offending his victim and the victim’s relatives while he demands the ransom money. He assures the victim’s relatives that they do not need to worry about the victim’s welfare and that the victim is safe and comfortable in his care. The ransom demands from him are insignificant and the funniest part is that he tips each victim of the ransom money after he frees them. These absurdities are nothing when we come to the part of Das’ invisible friend, Shalu, who is only visible to Das and is the accomplishment of his crimes. The other three men, Kesavan, Sekhar and Paglavan are friends who are unemployed, one was fired for defending himself against accusations of misbehaving with a co-worker, the other is a homeless man without a job and the third left his hometown. Fate (a drunken brawl) brings these four men together and then begins their journey of kidnapping. This is shown in a completely hilarious sequence, where we see people of all ages and personalities being kidnapped and soon released; there is a woman who shows no signs of panic and continues to chat calmly on her cell phone even after being kidnapped.
In one of their crimes, the father of the victim calls them and asks them to kidnap the son of Minister Gnanodhayam. The father turns out to be the brother of a contractor who was arrested under Gnanodhayam’s orders on bribery charges, and wants revenge on the Minister. So all he wants our four heroes to do is kidnap Gnanodhyan’s son Arumai and ask for two million rupees as a ransom. The heroes agree and chase after Arumai one day, but are baffled when another group of men kidnap him in front of his eyes before they can make the move on him. Later, dressed as policemen, they try to rescue-kidnap Arumai and when they find him they realize that the guy had orchestrated his own kidnapping. Later, the five of them (six if the invisible girl is included) try to swindle Arumai’s father and share the money between them. Their plan succeeds until Arumai, the clever fox, slips up on the others and a ruthless, rule-bending cop is deployed to root out the culprits. What made me the happiest in watching this movie was that it brought me closer to my true roots, my South Indian blood. This is my first time watching a Tamil movie and I have lived a full nineteen years in India, and this movie made me realize what crowd pleasing entertainment really is. Mainstream Bollywood movies are too obsessed with fair looks and toned bodies, so much so that it’s the six pack or size zero that decides who the biggest stars are. Soodhu Kuvoom’s actors would barely last in Bollywood because they don’t have the looks or figure to make it big in a mainstream Bollywood blockbuster, but the natural, earthy, indigenous charisma these actors possess is something that’s on the bandwagon. Bollywood (with exceptions, of course) can only dream of. Nobody here speaks for the camera, and we know that these actors are performing to entertain their audience. Even the charming Shalu, played by a beautiful Sanchita Shetty, has a worthy role in the film, which is rare in Bollywood.
Everyone in this world has a dark side, Soodhu Kavoom says, and most are desperate to play dirty, and in this bad, bad world, dishonesty is the path to success. And what about the rules? Well, weren’t they always meant to break?
