The Smile Man

The Smile Man is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language crime-mystery thriller film directed by duo directors, Syam and Praveen, while being written by Kamala Alchemis.

[1] The film stars R. Sarathkumar in the lead role, making his 150th film,[2] with an ensemble cast consisting of Sri Kumar, Sija Rose, Ineya, Kalaiyarasan, George Maryan, Suresh Chandra Menon, Rajkumar, Kumar Natarajan, Baby Azhiya and others in supporting roles.

The technical crew consists of cinematographer Vikram Mohan, editor San Lokesh and music composer Gavaskar Avinash.

A person claiming to be the 'Smile Man' killer voluntarily appears at the CBCID office, but Chidambaram quickly identifies the imposter.

Chidambaram begins to recount the past, where Aravind's father, Venkatesh, was his superior officer investigating the serial killings.

As Chidambaram pursued the speeding jeep escaping the scene, he was involved in the car accident shown at the beginning of the film.

They discover that the 2016 murders occurred near Chidambaram's residences and that his fiancée, Chithra, and her daughter, Yanu were victims of the psycho killer.

In mid-February 2022, an announcement was made regarding actor R. Sarath Kumar's 150th film titled The Smile Man[6] to be directed by Memories (2023) fame duo Syam and Praveen[7] and written by Kamala Alchemis.

[17] Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The Smile Man feels like a missed opportunity.

"[18] Janani K of India Today gave 2/5 stars and wrote "The Smile Man is a lost opportunity considering the potential it showed.

"[19] Anusha Sundar of OTT Play gave 2/5 stars and wrote "The Smile Man adds itself to one among the dozen serial killer stories that gets made as part of trend.

"[20] Narayani M of Cinema Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Just like Iraivan, The Smile Man employs a lethargic and straightforward approach to finding the killer.

"[21] Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "From the investigation that leads to the killer or the flashback to Chidambaram that the film holds back so preciously, nothing sticks.