Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum (2016)

Witty and wise, this offbeat romantic drama revolves around Kathiravan (Vijay Sethupathi), a small-time thug who works for a local area councillor (G. M. Sundar). His only aim in life is to become a bar owner.

Soon after being released from prison after serving a five-year sentence for a crime he did not commit on the orders of the councillor, Kathir expects his status to grow within the councillor's workforce, but nothing changes.

Meanwhile, a young Villupuram-based engineering graduate Yazhini Bakthirajan (Madonna Sebastian), leaves for Chennai against her parents' wishes to pursue a career in the IT sector. When the company she works for shuts down suddenly five months later, she faces financial hardship and is forced to move into a low-cost housing colony while searching for a new job.

Here she comes into contact with Kathir, who is her neighbour. Although they dislike each other in the beginning, they gradually warm up to each other despite their different backgrounds and become a sort of support system for one another.

Facing pressure from her family over her career and wedding, Yazhini introduces Kathir to her parents as her boyfriend who is a successful manager in an IT firm. Her parents decide to fix their marriage but change their mind after seeing Kathir thrashing two men opposite a temple, realising that he is a criminal. They fiercely oppose the relationship and forbid Yazhini from returning to Chennai, even preventing her to attend an important job interview.

Meanwhile, Kathir starts a gang war by beating up the henchmen of a rival gangster Kumar (Samuthirakani). The councillor decides that Kathir should murder Kumar. After ensuring that Yazhini attends her interview, Kathir proceeds with the plan to murder Kumar. However, during the ensuing scuffle, Kathir ends up being stabbed with a rebar and is left to bleed to death.

Two years later, Yazhini has become a director in her company and has moved out of the housing colony. She constantly thinks about Kathir, whom she had never seen again after her interview. Yazhini yearns to show Kathir her new life, knowing that he is the one person who will be happier than even herself in her having achieved her dreams. She soon finds Kathir working at a petrol bunk, having survived his murder attempt. He has left his criminal past behind and is leading a simple life as a law-abiding citizen. The two rejoice in the happy ending.