The film opens with statistics about the innumerable killings perpetrated by mercenaries hired by powerful politicians to remove their enemies out of the way. While some of the cops are enmeshed with the mafia, Chandrasekhar, an upright gutsy cop (Samuthirakani) is out to eliminate the baddies. The mafia kingpin here is Karna (Deva cutting a menacing figure) who controls the real estate business, the beach establishments, the corporates and the film industry too under his sway. There is this scene where a top actress comes to his den to wish him on his birthday. We also see cops (Bhaskar, Annachi), paying obeisance to Karna, their respective sons Anbu and Arul (Vimal, Ashwin) too follow the same path. The hero’s character here is slightly off-tangent from the ones we regularly get to see. The stepping in by the human rights commission when a culprit is killed rouses fury in Chandrasekhar. Anbu turning into an informer and telling Karna about the plans made by the police to capture him, lead to consequences.
The fight and chase scenes are stylishly choreographed. Like the one where Chandrasekhar and his picked team of encounter specialists ambush Karna and his gang around the beach area.
There is the romance between Anbu and Amrutha who runs an event management company. But it doesn’t take much space. There are some thoughtfully written lines. Like the ones where Chandrasekhar laments the miserable state of affairs where cops betray their own and bring shame and dishonour to their fraternity.
Geetha in her first lead role fits in suitably. But it’s Samuthirakani who with his intensity and involvement, is the key strength of the film.
The plot may not be an entirely new one, and some of the happenings too may seem familiar. But what the debutant director has managed to do, is to bring in some slight variations within the parameters of a familiar scenario.
And more importantly, he has kept his story telling focussed and crisp and maintained a racy pace throughout. The screenplay rarely has any slackening moments or wasted scenes.
Fairly engaging in its story telling style, Kaaval seems to be a debutant director’s tribute to the police force.