Saani Kaayidham () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action crime film directed by Arun Matheswaran. The film stars Keerthy Suresh and director Selvaraghavan in lead roles. Sundar Arumugam produced the film while the musical score and cinematography were handled by Sam C. S. and Yamini Yagnamurthy respectively.
Saani Kaayidham was released on Amazon Prime Video on 6 May 2022 and received positive reviews from critics.
Plot
In 1989, Ponni was a hardworking police constable without real higher-life aspirations. Ponni aims to ensure that she raises her daughter Dhanam well and that she receives a good education. Ponni's husband, Maari, a mill worker, aspires to break free from rampant caste issues and poverty in their village by getting involved in local elections. It leads to a minor conflict with one of the mill owner's relatives, and Anbu soon gets fired after he was forced to clean the toilet. When he returns the next day to apologise and get his job back, the mill owner, Perumal, and his relatives, driven by their senseless casteism and misogyny, humiliate him and make derogatory remarks about Ponni to the point that they suggest that Ponni should sleep with one of them so Maari can get his job back.
In retaliation, Maari attacks and humiliates them in return. They feel shamed after a lower-caste person retaliates against them, whom they consider an inferior specimen. As a result, Perumal and his relatives burn down Ponni's house while her husband and daughter sleep inside. They assault and rape Ponni after her superior officer, Deva, leads her to them on false pretences. However, they leave Ponni alive since she is a policewoman; her death might lead to legal trouble for them. When Ponni seeks justice for Maari and Dhanam's deaths in court, the culprits use their influence and receive a minor sentence. After planning a scuffle, they leave to hide and escape with the help of Advocate Rani. Ponni, reeling from the incident, swears revenge on them. She teams with her half-brother Sangayya to seek vengeance against the upper-caste landlords.
Ponni was not on good terms with Sangayya due to a past conflict between their mothers, and they grew apart. Sangayya reconciles with Ponni due to a similar incident in his past (A group of people murdered his son and wife, and the villagers beat him) and how he formed a close bond with Dhanam. She tells them that they should feel the pain they felt and that she should hack them. Firstly, the duo find Advocate Rani in an abandoned building. Ponni stabs her in the stomach and shoulder. Rani eventually reveals the locations of the men. Ponni notes it down on paper. They then set her alight. The duo managed to hunt down, torture and kill the culprits. Firstly, they torture and stab Anbu. Then Sangayya pours acid on his penis to kills him since burning him would attact too much attention. During this time, Perumal is hunted by younger brother Giri due to an inheritance dispute and lost his life (Giri was also in charge of helping the group hide in different areas). Giri's blind son, Sudalai, whom the duo knew beforehand and was Dhanam's close friend, survived. Ponni and Sangayya find the man's body. Sangayya takes Sudalai, despite Ponni's adamant insistence that Sudalai had also assaulted her on that fateful night but Sangaya explains that he cannot rape or violate her since he is blind. Sangayya burns the lodge where another one of Perumal's goons, Vasu, is staying and kidnaps him. In a van, Sangayya puts his tied body inside a van. Ponni pours acid and brutally stabs him until he dies.
Ponni uses the van to run over Giri and his henchmen after one of the goons stabs Sangayya in the back, killing several men but Giri survived and escaped. The duo manages to find the last remaining target Maini and Deva at a cinema. Before killing Maini, he hacks off Maini's hand and then decapitates him. Maini's men seriously wound Sangayya after he singlehandedly held them off and successfully hacks Deva to dead. Sangayya insists Ponni to protect Sudalai since Giri will come to kill his nephew to eliminate the last remaining heir to the mill and the properties left by his grandfather. Ponni leaves him in the van to bring Sudalai, whom she had instructed to hide nearby. The reinforcements led by Giri arrive and chase after the vehicle, which Sangayya had anticipated. Sangayya sacrifices himself by blowing up the van after lighting up several gas cylinders, which he had stowed inside, killing the reinforcements as well as Giri and leaving Ponni devastated. After taking some time to recover and having her vengeance fullfilled, Ponni leaves with Sudalai. Sudalai was not involved in the assault and was innocent.