The Smile Man

Story:

The Smile Man is a 2024 crime-mystery thriller film in Tamil that was written by Kamala Alchemis and directed by Syam and Praveen While the ensemble cast includes Sri Kumar, Sija Rose, Ineya, Kalaiyarasan, George Maryan, Suresh Chandra Menon, Rajkumar, Kumar Natarajan, Baby Azhiya, and others in supporting parts, the film’s main actor is R. Sarathkumar, who is making his 150th feature

Under the auspices of Magnum Movies and Ka Film Company, Salil Das, Anish Haridasan, and Anandan T are producing the movie. Editor San Lokesh, music composer Gavaskar Avinash, and cinematographer Vikram Mohan make up the technical team.   December 27, 2024, saw the release of The Smile Man.

A person with the recognizable ‘Smile Man’ insignia on their face is shot dead close to Coimbatore. In the meantime, an unidentified attacker strikes Chidambaram Nedumaaran during a car accident. Chidambaram is battling Alzheimer’s five years later, and his doctor warns him that he will lose all of his memories in a year. To document his experiences, Chidambaram publishes a book about the serial murdering cases he has solved, including the unfinished ‘Smile Man’ case.

Aravind, a CBCID officer and the son of Chidambaram’s former colleague Venkatesh, who vanished five years ago while on an assignment with Chidambaram, is introduced to Chidambaram at the book presentation. Veerayya gives Chidambaram information about four convicted criminals who are currently at large. They are followed in stealth by Chidambaram, who is killed by the same ‘Smile Man’ pattern after speaking briefly with one of the criminals. With the release of Chidambaram’s book, the CBCID team believes a serial killer is back on the loose. Chidambaram teams up with Aravind to find the psycho-serial killer known as “Smile Man” in defiance of his doctor’s instructions.

Throughout the investigation, Chidambaram records talks as his memory lapses become more regular. Chidambaram believes the murder is a copycat murder, implying that the original murderer has gone on the rampage again. The ‘Smile Man’ assassin willingly shows up at the CBCID office, but Chidambaram spots the impostor right away. Even before Chidambaram could get there because he was having trouble remembering the address, the real murderer kills Veerayya. Aravind and the police are informed by Chidambaram, but they unintentionally detain a car driver. The police get a sight of the murderer and their car after reviewing traffic CCTV footage.

Chidambaram chooses to leave the inquiry after feeling guilty about not catching the murderer. At Veerayya’s house, Aravind finds a cell phone with Chidambaram’s call on it, so he confronts Chidambaram. In the past, when Aravind’s father, Venkatesh, was his superior officer looking into the serial deaths, Chidambaram starts to narrate. For personal reasons, Chidambaram had left the case, but he later learned that Venkatesh had killed an innocent carpenter and closed it after his wife came to complain about the murder. Venkatesh deceived and shot Chidambaram when he confronted him. However, Chidambaram was taken aback to discover the ‘Smile Man’ mark on Venkatesh’s face after shooting him in self-defense.

When Aravind finds out that Chidambaram killed his father, he becomes furious and starts looking into Chidambaram. They learn that Chidambaram’s fiancée, Chithra, and her daughter, Yanu, were victims of the psycho murderer, and that the 2016 killings took place close to his homes. Despite being under house arrest, Chidambaram organizes a press conference to draw the psycho-killer’s attention to himself. As a result of Aravind’s inquiry into Chithra, the psycho killer is identified as Prabhu, a mortuary staff. Chidambaram believes Aravind may be the murderer’s next victim. But five years earlier, Venkatesh falsely framed a carpenter’s wife, whom Prabhu murders.

Prabhu starts telling the story of how he was involved in the Chidambaram murders. He admits that he began murdering his buddies to make them smile after they died when they turned away from him. When Chidambaram developed a strong bond with her daughter Yanu, Prabhu’s fixation on the nurse Chithra intensified. Yanu died as a result of Prabhu forcing her to beg her mother to marry him. Devastated by the loss of her daughter, Chithra hangs herself.

Prabhu attacks Chidambaram after he tells about his background, but Aravind and Keerthana step in, saving him and taking him to the hospital. After waking up and listening to Prabhu’s taped chat, Chidambaram goes to the mortuary. Prabhu is subdued and killed by Chidambaram, who has memory loss. Aravind comes clean, admitting that Chidambaram is the true hero and that his father concealed the truth. Chidambaram, meanwhile, is seen in a rehabilitation facility, having moved on from his past.