Soodhu Kavvum

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Soodhu Kavvuum
Soodhu Kavvum Poster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNalan Kumarasamy
Screenplay byNalan Kumarasamy
Story by
  • Nalan Kumarasamy
  • Shrinivas Kaviinayam
Produced byC. V. Kumar
Starring
CinematographyDinesh B. Krishnan
Edited byLeo John Paul
Music bySanthosh Narayanan
Production
company
Distributed byStudio Green
Release date
  • 1 May 2013 (2013-05-01)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget2 crore[1]
Box officeest. 35 crore[2]

Soodhu Kavvum (transl. Evil Engulfs) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language black comedy crime film written and directed by Nalan Kumarasamy in his directoral debut [3] It features Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha, Ashok Selvan, Ramesh Thilak, Karunakaran and Sanchita Shetty in the lead roles.

The film was released on 1 May 2013.[4] The main concept is about how silly talk has engulfed people's day-to-day life and modern society. Soodhu Kavvum received positive reviews from critics and became a big blockbuster.[5][6] The film was remade in Telugu as Gaddam Gang and into an Urdu language Pakistani movie titled as Chupan Chupai.[7] A standalone sequel, titled Soodhu Kavvum II: Naadum Naatu Makkalum, is currently being filmed.

Plot[edit]

Friends Kesavan, Sekar, and Pagalavan meet Das, a middle-aged man who does low-profile kidnappings for a living with his imaginary girlfriend Shalu. Since they are broke, the trio decides to become his assistants. Das follows five rules of kidnapping (which he spells and writes as "kednaping"), the first of which is to avoid kidnapping people from political backgrounds.

One day, the Das gang kidnap a boy and successfully obtain ransom money from his father Nambikkai Kannan. Nambikkai's contractor brother has been arrested for attempted bribery by State Minister Gnanodayam, a honest politician. Impressed with Das's kidnapping skills, Nambikkai asks him to kidnap Gnanodayam's son Arumai Pragasam as revenge and offers to pay Das up to 20 million. Das initially hesitates, but eventually agrees after being convinced by Kesavan, Sekar and Pagalavan.

The next day, the Das gang set out to kidnap Arumai but are astonished to see him be kidnapped by another group. They kidnap Arumai from the other kidnappers and discover that the first kidnapping was staged by Arumai himself to extort money from his father. Arumai manages to convince Das and his men to collude with him to obtain ransom money from his father. The group demands 20 million from the minister and receives the money.

An argument over splitting the cash arises between Arumai and the rest during which their van loses control and falls from a bridge. Arumai runs away with all the money. The minister seeks the assistance of encounter specialist Bramma, a ruthless policeman to hunt down the kidnappers. Arumai returns to his house and hides the money in his room. Das devices a plan to kidnap Arumai again to retrieve the money. They accidentally meet Arumai and successfully kidnap him again. Das lets Arumai go free, after making him promise that he should not tell anything about them to the police. Arumai also promises to return their share of the money. Bramma learns that Arumai staged his own kidnapping and uses this information to threaten Arumai into testifying against the Das gang.

Arumai perjures that the Das gang did not kidnap him, leading to their acquittal. Enraged, Bramma takes the gang to a remote location, brutally beats them in a dark room with the aid of NVG, and raises his department gun to kill them. Instead of shooting them with the officially issued gun, he goes out and retrieves from his police jeep an illegal homemade gun that he had seized from a crook. When he inserts it behind his back in his pants, the rusty gun misfires into Bramma's buttocks, allowing the Das gang to escape. Arumai's father breaks in and takes the money bag to the chief minister, who provided the ransom money. When he opens the bag, the minister is shocked to find it filled with newspapers instead of cash. Arumai had transferred the cash to another bag and gives the Das gang their share.

The chief minister calls Arumai to his office and asks him to stand as a candidate in the upcoming general elections in lieu of his father, who never brought much income to the party due to his refusal to be corrupt. The chief minister praises Arumai's shrewdness and believes that he can rake in a substantial income of 3 billion in five years for the party, as a young minister. Arumai wins the elections, becomes MLA, immediately gets a minister post, and appoints Sekar and Kesavan as his personal advisers, while Pagalavan becomes an actor. Das continues his kidnapping business with a new band of young men. They kidnap a woman who looks exactly like Shalu, belatedly realising that she is Shalini Gupta, a minister's daughter. Thus, Das has broken his first rule of kidnapping again.

Cast[edit]

Soundtrack[edit]

Soodhu Kavvum
Soundtrack album by
Released27 March 2013
Recorded2013
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length16:43
LanguageTamil
LabelThink Music
ProducerSanthosh Narayanan
Santhosh Narayanan chronology
Pizza
(2012)
Soodhu Kavvum
(2013)
Pizza 2: The Villa
(2013)

The soundtrack album and background music was composed by Santhosh Narayanan. The audio rights were purchased by Think Music.[9] Adhi from the Hiphop Tamizha duo wrote the lyrics for the track "Sudden Delight" while the rest of the tracks were written by GKB, Sean Roldan, Muthamil, Nalan Kumaraswamy and Gana Bala. The soundtrack album was released on 27 March 2013 at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai. Celebrities such as Vaibhav Reddy, Karthik Subbaraj, Nanditha, K. S. Srinivasan, Ravindar Chandrasekaran, were present at the event along with the film's cast and crew.[10][11]

The album received positive reviews. Behindwoods rated the album 2.5 out of 5, saying it as "Big ideas. Good returns."[12] Indiaglitz rated the album 2.75 out of 5, and stated it as "The best of Santhosh Narayanan".[13] Top10 Cinema gave favourable reviews, stating that "On the whole, the album introduces some new genre of music and Santhosh Narayanan deserves a special pat for this. Much alike his previous album Pizza, the visuals would add more beautifications to his music" and gave a verdict "Buy it for Come Na Come & Sudden Delight"[14]

However, later on, the soundtrack went on to be one of the most respected soundtracks in Tamil cinema. It introduced new genres of music to the Tamil audience. Santhosh Narayanan built his own fanbase for diverging from the mainstream musical ideologies and delivering something new.

Track-List
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Come Na Come"Ganesh Kumar BGanesh Kumar B, Chinna3:55
2."Mama Douser"Nalan KumarasamyAndrea Jeremiah3:20
3."Ellam Kadanthu Pogumada"RrKoavai Jaleel2:41
4."Sudden Delight"AdhiRob Mass2:37
5."Sa Ga"MuthamilDivya Ramani1:43
6."Kaasu Panam"Gaana BalaGaana Bala, Anthony Daasan2:27
Total length:16:43

Release[edit]

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Tamil. Soodhu Kavvum was released on 1 May 2013 alongside Ethir Neechal and Moondru Per Moondru Kadhal.[15]

Critical reception[edit]

Soodhu Kavvum opened to positive reviews. Baradwaj Rangan from The Hindu stated "Nalan Kumarasamy's Soodhu Kavvum is a demonstration of what's possible when films are made for the sheer joy of making films. There isn't a single calculated moment, something cynically aimed to satisfy this segment of the audience or that one. Everything is organic, the events rooted in a nutty story and sprouting through a brilliant screenplay".[16] S Saraswathi from Rediff gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Soodhu Kavvum is an engaging film, with ingenious characters and entertaining situations" and called it a "must-watch".[17] N Venkateswaran from The Times of India gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Nalan Kumarasamy establishes himself as a director to watch out for in this laugh riot of a debut film. Carrying off a dark comedy is no mean task, but Nalan hits the target right in his first attempt. His writing is crisp, the lines are down to earth and funny, the characters well-etched and the screenplay has no dull moments".[18] Sify wrote "Soodhu Kavvum works big time due to smart writing and perfect characterisation. Final verdict on Soodhu Kavvum is that it is a gutsy great film. It is one of the best films to have emerged out of Kollywood in a long, long time".[19] Cinemalead wrote "Soodhu Kavvum is definitely a new attempt in Tamil cinema, go for it."[20]

Malini Mannath from The New Indian Express wrote "Engaging screenplay, deft narration, well-etched characters and twists and humour generated at unexpected moments, make Soodhu Kavvum a wacky jolly fun ride".[21] Behindwoods gave 3 stars out of 5 and said "Soodhu Kavvum’s scoring area is definitely its characterisations as Nalan Kumarasamy offers each of the central characters a back story that's unique and more importantly contributing to the character's present circumstance".[22] Vivek Ramz from In rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Soodhu Kavvum is a total laugh riot![23]

Sudhish Kamath later picked Soodhu Kavvum as one of five films that have redefined Tamil cinema in 2013, writing, "This film is a joy to watch, full of laughs and unpredictable situations with great wit, dark humour and satire. Writer-director Nalan Kumarasamy, the winner of the first season of Nalaya Iyakkunar, is one of the most exciting filmmakers of our times with his ability to turn a cliché on the head".[24]

Soodhu Kavvum was featured in Indo-Asian News Service's 10 best southern films of 2013, who called it "unarguably the funniest film of the year".[25] Sify[26] and Rediff[27] listed it in the year-end top Tamil films lists, too.

Soodhu Kavvum was selected for screening in the Zurich Film Festival, being the only Tamil film of 2013 to be screened there.[28] [29]

Box office[edit]

Soodhu Kavvum grossed 11.5 lakh (US$14,000) in Chennai theatres on its first weekend.[5] In its opening weekend it grossed 15.7 lakh (US$20,000) in the US which was a disappointing result.[30] The film had collected 5.2 crore (US$650,000) in two weeks in Tamil Nadu, according to IANS.[31] In June 2013, IANS reported that it had earned 35 crore (US$4.4 million).[32]

Remakes[edit]

PVP Cinema purchased the Telugu remake rights in July 2013.[33] The film has been remade in Telugu as Gaddam Gang. The Kannada remake rights were bought by Rockline Venkatesh.[1] Director Rohit Shetty had been signed for 250 million to direct the Hindi remake. It was unofficially remade in Pakistan in Urdu language as Chupan Chupai.[34]

Sequel[edit]

After the success of Soodhu Kavvum, the producer of the movie C.V.Kumar had planned to make a sequel to the movie which was to be titled as Soodhu Kavvum 2 and the script work was said to have been done by Nalan Kumarasamy himself.[35] In 2023, marking the film's tenth anniversary, the sequel was officially announced, with Mirchi Shiva in the lead role. A few months later, the sequel's title was revealed as Soodhu Kavvum II: Naadum Naatu Makkalum.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b 'Soodhu Kavvum' to have Kannada remake
  2. ^ "'Chennai Express' Director to Remake 'Soodhu Kavvum' in Hindi". International Business Times. 12 October 2013. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Sanchita Shetty in Soodhu Kavvum". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  4. ^ Manigandan, K. R. (22 November 2012). "Shot Cuts: The wait continues". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b Soodhu Kavvum completes 50 days
  6. ^ Keen to do 'Soodhu Kavvum' in other languages: Sanchita
  7. ^ "The Icon Review: Hide and Steal". 7 January 2018. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Loved 'Super Deluxe'? Meet the film's unsung heroes". Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum – All Songs – Download or Listen Free – Saavn". Saavn. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum music launch tomorrow". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum audio launched". Sify. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum Songs Review Soodhu Kavvum, Vijay Sethupathi". www.behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum Music review songs lyrics". IndiaGlitz.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum – Music Review". Top 10 Cinema. 29 March 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ "May Day releases!". Sify. 30 April 2013. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  16. ^ baradwaj rangan (4 May 2013). "Soodhu Kavvum: Crime does pay!". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Review: Soodhu Kavvum is a class apart". Rediff. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  18. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum movie review". The Times of India. 4 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  19. ^ "Movie Review : Soodhu Kavvum". Sify. 4 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  20. ^ "SOODHU KAVVUM MOVIE REVIEW". Cinemalead. 4 May 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  21. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum (Tamil)". The New Indian Express. 4 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum Movie Review". Behindwoods. 1 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  23. ^ "Tamil movie review: Soodhu Kavvum is a total laugh riot!". In. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  24. ^ " A shot at standing out. " Archived 1 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine. The Hindu
  25. ^ 'Soodhu Kavvum' to 'Lucia': 10 southern films that wowed audience (2013 In Retrospect)
  26. ^ "Critics' choice- 10 best Tamil films of 2013". Sify
  27. ^ "The Top Tamil Films of 2013" Archived 30 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Rediff
  28. ^ " Soodhu Kavvum makes it " Archived 22 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Behindwoods. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  29. ^ "Paadal varigal, for 'Soodhu Kavvum' Songs". Archived from the original on 5 March 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  30. ^ 'Soodhu Kavvum', 'Sukumarudu' disappoint in overseas market
  31. ^ 'Soodhu Kavvum' , 'Sukumarudu' disappoint in overseas market
  32. ^ (after 12) Tamil cinema trading off quality with quantity?
  33. ^ PVP to remake Soodhu Kavvum
  34. ^ Jawaid, Mohammad Kamran (7 January 2018). "THE ICON REVIEW: HIDE AND STEAL". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  35. ^ "Soodhu Kavvum sequel on the cards, confirms producer CV Kumar". Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.

External links[edit]