With Sooryavanshi, Rohit Shetty has announced his intention to create his own cinematic universe made up of police characters from his older films. Come to think of it, two of these characters (Simmba and Singham), are based on remakes from the South (Singam and Temper). Which means that a director like Hari (the creator of the Singam franchise) could have done this many years ago using just his own personally created police force. But let's try to extend this to include cops from across the Tamil industry: the Tamil Cinema Police Department, if you will.
Every actor (except Dhanush, strangely) has played a cop and here's a look at the ascending order of their service ranking in the industry-wide department of home affairs. From constable to top cop, these roles indicate how characters from movies can fill an entire police force, from the lower ranks right to the top. Here's our list of choice and their short resumes for the jobs:
Rank: Constable (soon to be Inspector)
Posting: Kaaki Sattai
Profile: A promising officer prone to romantic distraction when not kept sufficiently engaged by police work. He doesn't care to wear his identity on his sleeve either; he's perfectly happy to pretend that he's not a cop to impress his girlfriend's family. But he's completely different when you give him a real case. Also, don't bring up carbon monoxide in his presence.
Special skill: Enthusiasm.
Weakness: He's a greenhorn (for now, but could be commissioner someday).
Rank: Inspector
Posting: Sethupathi
Profile: You might not realize Sethupathi is a cop when he's in mufti. He takes his duty seriously but bears the weight of his responsibilities lightly. He's bold, but doesn't go so far as Singam. He's also a badass but is no Vinayak Mahadevan. In a sense, he's the the middle ground in TCPD: an everyday, honest officer who looks forward to going back to his family at the end of the day.
Special skills: Disarming nonchalance
Weakness: Could be more mindful (at all times, if possible) whether his gun is locked or not.
Rank: Assistant Superintendent of Police, Organized Crime Unit
Posting: Thani Oruvan
Profile: Mithran thinks of himself as a bullet that never swerves from it's target. He is so upright that he can seem one-note and 'boring'. But, sometimes you need an earnest officer like him to take on a hydra like Siddharth Abhimanyu.
Special skills: Single-mindedness, might consider motivational speaking as side-career.
Weakness: Might be ineffective in petty cases; mostly brooding about national or international issues.
Rank: Deputy Superintendent of Police
Posting: Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru
Profile: Theeran is the secret workhorse of TCPD. Police work is not just beating up goons and shooting criminals. You could argue that the real work happens in the documentary trail of evidence after a crime. If you want a cop to solve something more sinister than a corrupt politician or a problematic local dada, Theeran is the man you want—but he will take his time. He would meticulously go through the evidence, identify fingerprints from memory, and make impossible sacrifices to reach the truth—and the criminal.
Special skills: Obsessiveness
Weakness: He's too straightforward and ends up in a desk job. Could take a page out of the Aarusaamy or Singam playbook for managing superiors.
Rank: Sub-inspector
Posting: Ayogya
Profile: Karnan is best suited for missions requiring infiltration. His childhood allows him to mix with criminals from all walks of life and his corrupt ways might seem pleasing to anyone on the other side of the 'mellisana kodu'. But this works in our favour as he can enter any gang and provide information on their inner workings.
Special skills: A lack of family members. No one to kidnap or kill and blackmail him.
Weakness: Cannot be trusted. Joined the force only for power and money.
Rank: Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (previously inspector and sub-inspector)
Posting: Singam
Profile: You cannot find a better officer than Duraisingam (Suriya) to manage towns like Thoothukudi because he understands both the law and the local customs. He's basically a super-charged version of a traditional oor kaavalan. But that doesn't mean he can be useful only in Thoothukudi. He's completed successful missions as far out as South Africa.
Special skills: Initiative. You never see Duraisingam pencil anything down in his calendar for tomorrow. He acts NOW.
Weakness: can get loud when angry.
Rank: Deputy Commissioner of Police
Posting: Saamy
Profile: DCP Aarusaamy (Vikram) is honest, but not to a fault. He knows how to play rowdy with rowdies. Remember how Annachi disappeared like a needle in a haystack without a trace? In Saamy's own, now legendary, words: naa police illa, porukki. But, he's also TCPD's most upright porukki.
Special skills: clearing a rioting mob in five minutes using both aruvaa and arivu, having idly and beer for breakfast
Weakness: molagapodi
Rank: Assistant Commissioner of Police
Posting: Mankatha
Profile: Not exactly the kind of cop you'd want in an honest police force. But this ACP from the Maharashtra force is a double-crossing genius whose next next move is as unpredictable as the pandemic. Always two steps ahead of us, he's best suited to deal with gambling, especially in cricket. Don't get fooled by the salt-n-pepper. Vinayak is a heady concoction of 'veeram' and 'vivegam'.
Special skills: Ultra-stylish Slo-Mo entries, usually in his own Pajero.
Weakness: Cannot be trusted. In other words, 'viswasam' is not his strong suit.
Rank: Deputy Commissioner of Police
Posting: Theri
Profile: One of the most dutiful officers in the force was also once an incredibly good tuition teacher. But since his wife's untimely death, DCP Vijaykumar has been in and out of the game. His ability to take on the powers-that-be makes him both a friend as well an enemy to the force. Add to that his need to hang things (and people) off the bridge and we have a lethal officer who takes care of civilians like they are his family.
Special skills: Ability to walk around in circles delivering insane punch-lines—while pointing at his badge in style.
Weakness: A tendency to disappear for long stretches of time to live a double life as a baker in Kerala.
Rank: Deputy Commissioner of Police
Posting: Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu
Profile: One of the most senior officers in the force is also one of our best. He's so versatile that he can deal with a local criminal just as efficiently as he can deal with criminal masterminds with doctorate degrees. He can also take up a case internationally because of his universally accepted diplomatic passport, filed under the Ulaganayagan Rozgar Yojana. His secret George Bush costume only makes him an even more formidable officer.
Special skills: The Raghavan Instinct
Weakness: American accent, love at first sight, an obsession with his own left eye.
Rank: Commissioner of Police
Posting: Darbar
Profile: Only an officer of his stature can be entrusted with the duty to clean up entire cities, that too the size of Mumbai. With him in power, you can literally witness a city change overnight with crime rates falling, gangsters dying and birthday parties ending abruptly. Although his methods are suspect, you will seldom encounter another officer like Aditya.
Special skills: A skilled dancer, especially in railway stations. Oldest person to be named 'Aditya'.
Weakness: Temper. Human Rights is a joke to him.