Kuruthipunal

Infobox Film
name = Kuruthipunal


director = P.C. Sriram
writer = Govind Nihalani (story)
starring = Kamal Haasan
Arjun
Nasser
K. Vishvanath
Gouthami
Geetha
Subhalekha Sudhakar
Anusha
Pasupathy
Ajay Ratnam
producer = Kamal Haasan
distributor = Raajkamal Films International
released = 1996
runtime = 137 mins
cinematography = P.C. Sriram
language = Tamil
music = Mahesh Mahadevan
imdb_id = 0285665

"Kuruthipunal" (1996) is a Tamil drama/action film directed by veteran cinematographer P. C. Sriram. This is the second film after Sriram making debut with Vikram starring Meera in film direction. Upon release, the film met with a strong critical reception, and is recognised by some to have set high benchmarks for other action films in that period. The film featured no songs throughout the film, however the background score was composed by Mahesh Mahadevan. Produced by Kamal Hassan, the story is by Govind Nihalani. The film is a remake of the Govind Nihalani film 'Drohkaal', starring Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Amrish Puri. The plot revolves around a police officer in his 30s with familial obligations and a strong desire to curb terrorism in the country.

Plot

The film starts with two sincere police officers Adhi Narayanan (Kamal Hassan) and Abbas (Arjun). Abbas sends two secret police officers, named Anand and Shiva on a operation called Operation Dhanush, to mingle with a terror group headed by Badri (Nasser), with the task of providing updates about the movements of the group, then later sending it back to Abbas.

In an accidental encounter, Adhi happens to get the opportunity to arrest a terrorist even without being aware that the captive is none other than the Terrorist Head Badri. There is an interesting mental battle between Adhi and Badri. Threatening to bring harm to Adhi's family if kept in police custody, Badri displays his power by demonstrating how he is able to sneak in members of his group anywhere, including police protected headquarters. Adhi, afraid for his family's safety, gives in and lets Badri escape.

How Adhi turns back to his original self is the crux of the story.

Cast

Full cast and credit listing [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285665/fullcredits available] .

Trivia

*The film was recently featured as part of a retrospective to Kamal Haasan under the category "Director in Focus" at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
*This film was send to the Oscars in the year 1995.
*This film's complete anti-climax (of being both heroes shot dead in the end) was given a mixed response among the public but was considered a very different one among the critics!!!

External links

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