Vellaiya Irukiravan Poi Solla Maatan

There is a wonderful screwball vibe to Vellaiya Irukiravan Poi Solla Maatan (VIPSM), a black comedy that is a confident debut by Abanindran. The director manages to keep things relatable and even when things get out of hand for the hapless protagonist, they do not feel improbable. It all starts going wrong for Karthik (Praveen Kumar, who looks like Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao in certain angles) when he borrows money from a moneylender at a high interest. He has returned with his wife a kid to India from the US, where he had only recently landed a job, to look after his ailing father (Jayaprakash), a widower. But when the doctors tell him that his father needs surgery, he decides to borrow cash instead of selling off their land as his father wishes to give it to his grandkid. He hopes to repay the amount in three months but his father's condition worsens and he spends the cash to foot his medical expenses.

But, when the moneylender starts to intimidate Karthik, he, with the help of his friend Mani (a superb Balasaravanan), hatches a plan to anonymously blackmail his ex, Pooja (Shalini), who is the daughter of a rich businessman. However, Pooja doesn't have any money with her, and so, she approaches Karthik (not knowing that he is the one blackmailing her) to blackmail her husband Raghu (Karthik Kumar), a rich doctor. Raghu, in turn, blackmails a politician, who begins to blackmail a top cop, and soon, things spiral out of control and this game of blackmail reaches Periyavar (an ill-fitting Naren), a kingmaker in Delhi. Smelling something fishy, Periyavar goes after the links in the chain one by one and ultimately, that leads him to Karthik. Can the youngster save his skin and escape the wrath of Periyavar?

The best stretch in VIPSM is when Karthik's blackmail scheme starts turning into something much bigger. It is weird, it is funny, and it is also very much believable. And we get to see some interesting characters — like Mani's friend Thiruvengadam, a courie...