Kavan

K. V. Anand's 2017 Tamil film is an attempt at criticism aimed at sensational journalism. A young reporter who dreams of ethical, hard-hitting work realises that the entertainment channel employing him thrives not on producing news but on fabricating it. An incident forces him to choose between staying quiet and objecting openly. Vijay Sethupathi's performance saves the protagonist from being a monument to virtue: he too had wanted to rise inside the system. The film's most concrete section shows step by step how a news story is manufactured. Its weakness is a second half that slides into action thriller and reduces media criticism to individual villains. T. Rajendar's role feels like a concession to commercial expectation. Who it's for: viewers who like Tamil thrillers and mainstream films carrying media criticism. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a structural view of the subject, or bothered by song sequences interrupting the story.