Anniyan
| Anniyan | |
|---|---|
| File:Anniyan DVD cover.jpg poster | |
| Directed by | S. Shankar |
| Written by | Sujatha Rangarajan |
| Screenplay by | S. Shankar |
| Story by | S. Shankar |
| Produced by | Venu Ravichandran |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | |
| Edited by | V. T. Vijayan |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | |
Release date | June 17, 2005 |
Running time | 180 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹26.5 crore (US$3.2 million)[1] |
| Box office | ₹72 crore (US$8.6 million) all over world [2] |
Anniyan (Tamil: அந்நியன்; English: Stranger) is a 2005 Tamil psychological thriller film directed by S. Shankar. The film stars Vikram, Sadha, Prakash Raj, and Vivek, while featuring background score and soundtrack composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film was released worldwide on 17 June 2005.
The film took over two years to complete and was the most expensive South Indian feature film during the time of release.[3] The film was dubbed into Hindi as Aparichit: The Stranger, in Telugu as Aparichithudu, and was also the first Indian film to be dubbed into French.[4] It was produced and distributed in India by Venu Ravichandran.
Plot
Ambi aka Ramanujam Iyengar (Vikram) is an innocent and honest lawyer hailing from an orthodox Iyengar family. If he comes across anyone not obeying the law, he files cases against them. His regular habit to be perfect in rules and honesty leads him to develop a Multiple Personality Disorder in which a new personality in him grows as "Anniyan" (Vikram), a grim reaper-themed killer. Anniyan is violent and deranged, and Ambi has no clue that such a monster exists within him. Anniyan kills lawbreakers by methods used for torturing people in hell, as mentioned in the Garuda Purana. He then indicates the Sanskrit name for the punishment used at the place where he kills them. Some of these punishments are-
- Anthakoopam- A man (Cochin Haneefa) refused to help an old man in a critical condition. Anniyan forces a herd of buffaloes to stampede him to death.
- Kumbipakam- A railway catering contractor failed to provide decent food for the railway passengers. Anniyan tosses him into a pot of oil and fries him to death.
- Krimiibhojanam- A brake factory owner (Saurabh Shukla) sent a group of thugs to kill Ambi, who had filed a case against the factory for supplying defective brakes. While Ambi is being beaten up by the thugs, Anniyan is triggered who overpowers them. Then he ties the owner to a tree and dumps leeches onto his body.
DCP Prabhakar (Prakash Raj) and Chari (Vivek), a friend of Ambi, investigate the murders committed by Anniyan. Incidentally, Prabhakar is the younger brother of the contractor killed by Anniyan. Prabhakar decides to avenge his brother's death by pursuing Anniyan.
Ambi is in love with his neighbour Nandhini (Sadha), a medical student, who also teaches music. Ambi proposes her, but she rejects him due to his staunch following of rules. Distraught, Ambi attempts suicide, but is saved when a third personality comes to life within him. This persona, a suave fashion model named "Remo" (Vikram), woos Nandhini, who instantly falls for him.
Later, Nandhini acquires land in Tambaram, but buys it at less than the original amount to avoid paying tax to the government. Ambi is saddened by Nandini's act, triggering Anniyan. Anniyan chases Nandini and tries to kill her, but then reverts back to Ambi, who does not know where he is and what he is doing and falls unconscious. A terrified Nandini then takes Ambi to NIMHANS, where he is diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. At NIMHANS, Ambi reveals to the psychiatrist (Nassar) his dark past- when he was 14 years old, he witnessed the tragic death of his 8 year old sister Vidya, due to civic apathy. The psychiatrist concludes that the death of Vidya resulted in the development of this psychological disorder. He also triggers Anniyan and Remo and finds out that while Anniyan and Remo are fully aware that they are Ambi, Ambi has no clue about his multiple personalities. The psychatrist then comes to the conclusion that while Remo can disappear if Nandhini accepts Ambi's love, Anniyan can only disappear if India is free from all its ills. Nandhini eventually accepts Ambi's love and Remo disappears.
Later, Anniyan reveals himself at a gathering at the Nehru Stadium. He addresses the problems faced by India and the punishments he has used to tackle them. He wins the outright support of the people due to his ideals and methods. Meanwhile, Prabhakar and Chari continue their investigation and find out that Anniyan is none other than Ambi. Ambi is arrested and is taken to the police control room, where he is brutally assaulted by Prabhakar in retaliation for killing his brother and is left to die. Anniyan triggers, and beats up Prabhakar so severely, leaving him badly injured. Prabhakar drags Ambi to court, where it is revealed to all that he suffers from multiple personality disorder. Ambi is sentenced to 2 years of psychological treatment in a mental hospital after which, if he is cured, he will be released.
2 years later, Ambi is released and he marries Nandhini. By now, his staunch adherence to the rules has diminished. While travelling on a train during their honeymoon, Ambi notices some men drinking in front of women. He suffers a relapse on seeing this, transforms into Anniyan and kills the men by throwing them off the train. However, he hides the crime from Nandhini, proving that instead of eradicating Anniyan, he has become successful in blending the personalities of Ambi, Anniyan and Remo into one.
Cast
- Vikram as Rules Ramanujam 'Ambi' Iyengar / Remo / Anniyan
- Sadha as Nandhini Krishna
- Vivek as Chari Singari
- Prakash Raj as DCP Prabhakar
- Nassar as the psychiatrist
- Nedumudi Venu as Parthasarathy (Ambi's Father)
- Shanthi Wiliams as Susila Parthasarathy (Ambi's Mother)
- Cochin Haneefaas The Person Who Stops His New Car
- Shanmugha Rajan as Chockalingam (Chokas Ram in Hindi Version)
- Saurabh Shukla as Cable Company Owner
- Mohan Vaidya
- Kalabhavan Mani as House Owner (cameo)
- Charle as Wastrel
- Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan in a special appearance
- Yana Gupta in a special appearance
Production
The launch of the film was held at AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai on March 4, 2004 with the attendance of the cast and crew. At the event, Shankar revealed that the film would take six months to make and suggested that the film would be released during the Diwali season of 2004, which ultimately was missed by close to nine months.[5][6] The first schedule took place in Amsterdam, Netherland with the filming of a song – "Kumaari" – in the backdrop of a large flower garden in Vijfhuizen. The team initially hoped to film two songs in Netherlands, but were denied by authorities to shoot at a song at Keukenhof after a previous film crew had damaged the habitat.[7] Shankar did not want Vikram to reveal his look for the film to the public and despite Vikram's success at the National Film Awards, he was prohibited from meeting the media.[8] In October 2004, cinematographer Manikandan left the project citing date problems and was thus replaced by Ravi Varman.[9] A ten day shoot was held in Mumbai for a song featuring Hindi actress Yana Gupta, with producers initially hiding her identity to create suspense.[10][11]
Release
Produced on a budget of Rs 27 crores,[3] the film was declared a commercial success, grossing Rs. 70 crores from both Tamil and dubbed Telugu version and becoming the year's second highest grossing Tamil film.[2] It was funded by IDBI to the tune of Rs 8.5 crores and insured for Rs 29 crores to mitigate risk of failure. The producer was the sole distributor of the film. He recovered Rs 13 crores in advance from exhibitors as Minimum Guarantee before the completion of the project. By cutting off the middlemen thus, the profitability of the project was secured.
The film released with 110 prints in Andhra Pradesh[12] and this film completed 100 days in 38centers at all over Andhra pradesh and it become a great sensation big hit. and in 35 cinema halls across Kerala.[13] The film was simultaneously released in Tamil and dubbed into Telugu (as Aparachithudu). It was later dubbed into Hindi as Aparachit – The Stranger which made $500,000.[14] The film collected Rs 52 crores in Tamil Nadu, Rs 15 crores in Andhra Pradesh and Rs 7.5 crores in Kerala and the rest from other parts of India and overseas.
Soundtrack
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The soundtrack's composed by Harris Jayaraj got very good critical and commercial response and received several awards including Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director and Filmfare Best Music Director Award.[15][16]
| Tamil (Lyrics: Vairamuthu, Na. Muthukumar & Kapilan) |
Telugu (Lyrics: Chandrabose & Bhuvanachandra) |
Hindi (Lyrics: Mehboob) |
|---|---|---|
| Kumari (Shankar Mahadevan & Harini) |
Kumari (Shankar Mahadevan & Harini) |
Kumari (Unnikrishnan & Harini) |
| Kadhal Yanai (Nakul, Nelwyn & G. V. Prakash Kumar) |
Love Elephantla (Nakul, G. V. Prakash Kumar & Tippu) |
Remo (Nakul & G. V. Prakash Kumar) |
| Kannum Kannum Nokia (Leslie Lewis, Andrea Jeremiah & Vasundhara Das) |
Naaku Neeku Nokia (Kunal Ganjawala & Vasundhara Das) |
Gora Gora (Leslie Lewis & Vasundhara Das) |
| Iyengaaru Veetu (Hariharan & Harini) |
Jiyangaari Inti (K. J. Yesudas & Harini) |
Iyengar Ghar ki (Hariharan & Harini) |
| Andang Kaka (KK, Jassie Gift, Shreya Ghoshal, Saindhavi) |
Kandakaki (Jassie Gift, KK, Sujatha Mohan) |
Chori hai (KK, Shreya Ghoshal) |
| Stranger in Black (Sunitha Sarathy & Chennai Chorale) |
Stranger in Black (Sunitha Sarathy & Chennai Chorale) |
Stranger in Black (Sunitha Sarathy & Chennai Chorale) |
- The song 'Kannum Kannum Nokiya' was shot in Kuala Lumpur Airport (KLIA) and Petronas Twin Towers.
- The film has a sequence featuring the Thiruvaiyaar music festival. Well known exponents like Kunnakudi R Vaidhyanathan, Sudha Raghunathan and Unnikrishnan appear in the scene, which is a recreation of the real festival.
Awards
Anniyan received 8 out of 15 awards at the 2006 Filmfare Awards South, the most ever by any Tamil film.[17]
- Won – Best Film – Anniyan
- Won – Best Director – S. Shankar
- Won – Best Actor – Vikram
- Won – Best Music Director – Harris Jayaraj
- Won – Best Art Director – Sabu Cyril
- Won – Best Action Director – Peter Hein
- Won – Best Lyricist – Vairamuthu
- Won – Best Cinematographer – Ravi Varman and V.Manikandan
2006 National Film Award
2006 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
- Won - Best Music Director - Harris Jayaraj
Themes
The film features comedy portions by Vivek regarding the anagrams of the Sanskrit words that denote the punishments. Even the titles shown in the beginning of the film slide with quicker animation of their anagrams. Another example is, during the intermission of the film, the word "TENSIONRISM" morphs into the word "INTERMISSION".
This film can be closely related to one of Shankar's previous features, Indian. Both movies have similar names in pronunciation, and both movies involve the main character rooting out the corrupt elements of India, due to corruption causing the death of the main character's close family member. The main character also gains popularity amongst the public, and shows one of his murders on live TV.
Another noticeable Shankar feature in both films is the portrayal of some elements from ancient Hinduism. In Indian, the ancient Varmam art was explored, while in this film, the texts from Garuda Puranam are emphasized for the punishments.
Influences
Influences from S. Shankar's other popular films like Gentleman and Kadhalan have been noted. The plot also borrows elements from Sidney Sheldon's Tell Me Your Dreams. The use of the time-slice method in the film, as with The Matrix films and earlier used by Shankar in his film Mudhalvan/Nayak shot by cinematographer V.Manikandan proved popular with the audience. Shankar used 17 cameras for a special action sequence and imported fighters as well as martial artists from all over the state were used in the multi-opponent fight scene. The special effects were provided by Big Freeze, a department based in London. Art direction for the film was provided by Sabu Cyril. In this film, the hero suffers from multiple personality disorder which was inspired from the English movie Primal Fear.
References
- ^ Metro Plus Chennai : The mother of all biggies. The Hindu (2005-06-15). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ a b Top Grossers in 2006. Pickle, Vol. 1–5, 28 Oct – 3 Nov 2006
- ^ a b The mother of all biggies. The Hindu (2005-06-15)
- ^ Indian Film Industry | Film Industry of India | Indian Cinema. Indiaonline.in. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ `Anniyan` launched in style. Sify.com (2004-03-04). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ Vikram in Anniyan – Tamil Movie News. IndiaGlitz. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ Shankar`s secret shoot!. Sify.com (2004-05-05). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ National award winner, Vikram is in a fix!. Sify.com (2004-08-16). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ Shankar replaces `Anniyan` cameraman. Sify.com (2004-10-15). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ `Anniyan` item number in Mumbai!. Sify.com (2004-12-18). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ Yana is `Anniyan` item girl!. Sify.com (2004-12-27). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ Aparichithudu 50 days function. Idlebrain.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ `Anniyan`-Facts and figures!. Sify.com (2005-06-26). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
- ^ "All India 2006 (Collections in Rs. Crore)". BoxOfficeIndia.Com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ "TAMIL NADU STATE GOVERNMENT FILM AWARD YEAR 2005". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
- ^ "Tamil Nadu Government awards". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
- ^ `Anniyan` sweeps Filmfare Awards!. Sify.com (2006-09-10). Retrieved on 2012-02-05.