Post his loss of arm, kALi is not exactly a changed man. He can still beat the crap out of azhagesan and retain the awe in which his chamchas hold him. However, you can sense a little vulnerability, helplessness now. Gone is the straight talking, wysiwyg kALi. Now, he has a measured cunning added - the way he plays the Engineeer from the time the latter asks for his sister's hand to the well-planned, paced delivery of the command to azhagesan to marry his sister. The Engineer knows he is a beaten man.
In a way, this kALi rolls back to Vijayan in Udhiri pUkkAL. Or, the other way around possibly. He has his preferences, and he will let his hate determine his choices and have his way. The village gathering against the tyrant's diktat seems to be the climax in both cases but fortunately for kALi, he has two women playing his conscience - while Rajni and Shoba walk away with the acting honours, Fatafat Jayalakshmi sparkles as Manga, and it is she who sets the events in motion and ensures that kALi doesnt meet the same fate as the correspondent in UP. She is fearless, stands up to him and mobilises the village against him, while not completely puncturing his aura. Eventually, the two women combined manage to stoke his ego, as well as get the "right thing" done.
Truly, this is a landmark movie for TFI. Fortunate to have viewed it at different stages of my life.