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‘Singam’ to ‘Saamy’ Tamil’s Cinema’s Policeman Fixation

Tamil cinema has a top cop fixation. Do you have it too?

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Indian Cinema
3 min read
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From Sivaji Ganesan to Kamal Haasan, from Rajinikanth to Surya, Ajith and Vijay, from Vijayakanth to Vikram, if there’s one genre they’ve all been successful in, it is their “Police Stories”.

With Saamy2’s release, the average Tamil movie buff’s fixation for a hero in khakhi is official. That the movie is bound to be the same (old? new? who knows?) roller coaster ride of fast-mo shots, explosions and flexed muscles is besides the point.

What’s constant is the audience’s hunger for stories centred around a policeman who is larger than life, and who often, takes the law into his own hands.

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Sivaji Ganesan’s Thanga Pathakkam

Directed by P Madhavan, who gave Sivaji Ganesan some of his biggest hits, Thanga Pathakkam (1974) gave the actor free reign to express (overbearing) fatherly sentiments, and of course the ‘strict officer’ persona.

Even today, police costumes and characters are often moulded after Honest Officer S P Chowthri.

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Rajinikanth and Vijayakanth

It was with Moondru Mugam (1982) that Rajinikanth was finally able to cast off his villainous roles, and display the ‘style’ that has now become a part of him, regardless of the movie or director.

In this film, he plays three characters, but it is his role as Alex Pandiyan that stands the test of time. The dialogues of course, are for all time.

A matchstick catches fire if you rub a matchbox only on two sides. But rub against Alex Pandiyan on any side, and he will catch fire!
Rajinikanth as Alex Pandiyan

Vijayakanth on the other hand established himself as the quintessential action hero of Tamil cinema with the Mani Ratnam produced Chathriyan (1990), and followed this up with Captain Prabhakaran (1991). It was thanks to this movie that the monicker ‘Captain’ stuck, and the hero became larger than life, in the eyes of the masses.

Even the TV channel he owns, is called ‘Captain TV’. Take that!

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Gautham Menon’s Cops

Rumour has it that director Gautham Vasudev Menon makes the same cop centric films over and over with different heroes. There is some substance to it, since the films follow a familiar story arc. Nevertheless, the director did cash in on, and reinvent the on-screen police of Tamil Nadu.

He began with Surya’s Kaakha Kaakha, the film that literally shot him to fame and made the audience stand in attention. Kamal Haasan, who was by then seen as the legend who was beyond any director, agreed to Vettayadu Vilayadu, where he’s seen acting his age, and looking darn good while at it.

One of his biggest hits thus far is with Ajith, in Yennai Arindhal (2015), where the actor rocks his salt-and-pepper hair, and is hardly ever in uniform. Tamil cinema had officially moved from super-cop to top cop, or so everyone thought.

But then you’ve got to consider Director Hari.

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Hari’s Singam Series and Saamy

Singam (2010) followed by it’s sequels (2013 and 2017) are some of the biggest blockbusters in Tamil cinema. After making over 100 crores in theatres, it moved on to become the staple festival flick on TV, in the league of Padayappa and Baasha, both undying Rajinikanth flicks.

In the same league was Saamy, also directed by Hari, starring Vikram. It boosted the fortunes of Hari, Vikram and Kavithaalaya, the production house started by the legendary director K Balachander. Will Saamy2 do it again?

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