Bharathiyudu
Indian is a 1996 Tamil vigilante film directed by Shankar and produced by A. M. Rathnam. The film stars Kamal Haasan in dual roles with Manisha Koirala, Urmila Matondkar, Sukanya and Goundamani appearing in other pivotal roles. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by A. R. Rahman, while cinematography was handled by Jeeva. The film tells the story of corruption in India, with a former soldier becoming a vigilante to stamp the problem out.
The film opened to positive reviews from critics on the way to becoming a commercial blockbuster in the Tamil film industry. Indian was nominated by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1996. The film also went on to win three National Film Awards including that of Best Actor for Kamal Haasan's portrayal, while his performance also saw him win at the Filmfare Awards and the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. The film was dubbed and released in Hindi as Hindustani with a few scenes reshot and also in Telugu as Bharatheeyudu.
Plot
The story runs on two tracks. One is that of Chandra Bose alias Chandru (Kamal Haasan), a small-time broker outside the RTO (Regional Transport Office) who gets people to high positions by accepting bribes. He is supported in this work by Subbiah (Goundamani). Paneerselvam (Senthil) plays an officer in the RTO who has conflicts with Subbiah. Aishwarya (Manisha Koirala) and Chandru are in love with each other. Sapna (Urmila Matondkar) is the daughter of Gandhikrishna, an officer in RTO. Her father promises to get Chandru a job of being a brake inspector in the RTO, if he runs errands for them. He agrees to work for them, and soon he becomes a brake inspector.
The other track is of Senapathy alias Indian (Kamal Haasan), a 70-year-old man who kills top government officials (like Commissioners of Corporation etc.) in an extreme attempt to weed out corruption from Indian soil. Senapathy is also Chandru's father. Krishnaswamy (Nedumudi Venu) is an intelligence IPS officer out to nab the Indian. He manages to somehow trace his way to Senapathy's house and finds Senapathy, posing as an ex-freedom fighter. Archived newspaper reports say that Senapathy was a soldier in the Indian National Army who was an extremist. Senapathis wife Amirthavalli (Sukanya) is asked what Senapathy did to deserve a freedom fighter tag, and at this point, we are taken to the 1940s. Rebellions against the British, atrocities etc. are shown, culminating in Senapathy marrying Sukanya but leaving for Singapore to join Subhas Chandra Bose as part of the INA. He returns after independence. Krishnaswamy tries to arrest Senapathy, but his attempt is foiled, and Senapathy escapes with his expertise in the art of hitting varmam or pressure points.
Senapathy then goes on to commit a murder in front of television audiences by killing a corrupt doctor(Nizhalgal Ravi) who refused to attend immediately to Senapathy's daughter (Kasthuri), who was suffering from third degree burns because he insisted on a bribe, which Senapathy refused. Chandru parts ways with his father because of his excessive insistence on honesty etc. and considers these values to be dead and worthless. How Senapathi evades the police and escapes arrest forms a major portion of the remaining part of the story. Public support is very high for the Indian because he exposes so many corrupt people. Senapathy does not do his son any favours either. Chandru had earlier taken a bribe and given a safety certificate to a bus with faulty brakes. The bus meets with an accident, killing school children it was carrying and thus Chandru is held responsible. Senapathy is bent on giving Chandru the same punishment as he gives others, i.e.death. After a few chase sequences, in the climax sequence in an airport Senapathy kills Chandru and apparently dies in an explosion. Krishnaswamy discovers through a video that Senapathi escaped moments before the jeep he killed his son in, exploded.
The epilogue shows Senapathy calling Krishnaswamy from a foreign land (Hong Kong), indicating that he will be back should the need for him arise.
Cast
Kamal Haasan as Senapathy and Chandra BoseManisha Koirala as Aishwarya
Urmila Matondkar as Sapna
Suganya as Amrithavalli
Goundamani as Subbaiya
Senthil as Panneerselvam
Nedumudi Venu as Krishnaswamy
Kasturi as Kasthuri
Manorama
Aruna Irani (Hindi version only)
Nizhalgal Ravi
Bala Singh
Production[edit]
In June 1995, producer A. M. Rathnam signed on Shankar, who had directed two blockbusters in Gentleman (1993) and Kaadhalan (1994), to make a new venture featuring leading actor Kamal Haasan in the lead role. The film was reported to be loosely based on the life of prominent Indian freedom fighter, Subhas Chandra Bose.[2] Shankar tried to rope in Aishwarya Rai to make her debut and portray the leading female role but her commitment to her advertisement agency until October 1995 meant that she was ineligible to sign the film.[2] Subsequently Manisha Koirala, who appeared in the critically acclaimed 1995 Mani Ratnam film Bombay was selected as the lead heroine. The producers signed on Raadhika to play the pair of the older Kamal Haasan in the film, but her television commitments meant that she was unable to fulfil her contract. Urvashi subsequently replaced her, only for Shankar to throw her out for missing a day's schedule to attend her sister's wedding. The role was finally handed to Sukanya, who had previously appeared alongside Kamal Haasan in Mahanadhi.[2] Hindi actress Urmila Matondkar was signed on to play a role in the film after the producers were impressed with her performance and the success of her 1995 Hindi film, Rangeela. The producers roped in Hollywood make-up artistes Michael Westmore and Michael Jones to work on the designs for the senior Kamal Haasan's and Sukanya's look in the film.[3]
For production work, Shankar visited Las Vegas to learn about new technology and purchased cameras for the production. Furthermore the director visited Australia alongside cinematographer Jeeva and music director A. R. Rahman to location hunt and to compose tunes.[2] The film's unit were given strict order to maintain privacy, with Hindi actor Jackie Shroff being notably turned away from visiting the shooting spot. A song for the film was shot at Prasad Studios featuring Kamal Haasan and Urmila Matondkar alongside 70 Bombay models.[4] This led to a protest from the Cine Dancers Union who argued that Tamil dancers should have been utilised instead, with Shankar opting to pay them off to avoid further hassle. Another duet between Kamal Haasan and Manisha Koirala was shot near the Sydney Opera House in Sydney and Canberra for fifteen days.[5] A flashback song was canned with four hundred dancers and a thousand extras at Gingee with Kamal Haasan and Sukanya, while another song featured shooting in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.[2][3] Graphic designer Venky noted that Indian was his most difficult project to date (in 1997) with a scene constructed to feature Kamal Haasan's character alongside freedom fighter, Subhas Chandra Bose. Venky had to remove blemishes on the film reel of Bose provided by the Film Division's archive before merging Kamal Haasan on to the shot to make it appear that the pair were marching in tandem.[6]
Release
The film opened in May 1996 to predominantly positive reviews from critics and went on to become a blockbuster at the South Indian box office.[7] The film ran packed houses for several months in Tamil Nadu and was dubbed and released in Telugu as ''Bharatheeyudu. Prior to the release of the film, the team also planned a Hindi version of the film, with a few re-shot scenes including Aruna Irani in place of Manorama. The Hindi version also fared well after it's release in June 1996.
A critic from India Today praised Shankar's script, noting that "with the right mix of pop patriotism, anti-establishment diatribes and other commercial cinema ingredients, Shankar's latest creation has south India applauding" before adding that "the real triumph of the film is the effective make-over that believably transforms the actors".[8] Another film critic, wrote that "Indian represents Shankar's best effort to date both in terms of the effectiveness of the message he conveys and the entertainment value of the movie as a whole", adding that "the movie features a hardhitting message as well as a great performance from Kamal as an old freedom fighter with a new agenda, impressive special effects and extravagant song sequences."[9] The film went on to win three National Film Awards including Best Actor for Kamal Haasan's portrayal, Best Art Direction for Thotta Tharani's pre-independence sets and Best Special Effects for Venky's graphics work. It also achieved regional success, winning Best Film and Best Actor awards at both the Filmfare Awards and from the Tamil Nadu State.[10] It also became the Indian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1997, though eventually did not make the short list.
In 2011, producer A. M. Rathnam discussed the idea of a sequel to this project as anti-corruption leaders like Anna Hazare were becoming active.[11] Shankar's press relations team dismissed reports of a sequel in 2013, after news emerged that he was considering a follow up featuring Kamal Haasan and Suriya.[12]
Awards
1997 National Film Awards (India)
Won – Silver Lotus Award for Best Actor – Kamal Haasan
Won – Silver Lotus Award for Best Art Direction – Thotta Tharani
Won – Silver Lotus Award for Best Special Effects – Venky
1997 Filmfare Awards South (India)
Won – Best Actor Award (Tamil) – Kamal Haasan
Won – Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil – A. M. Rathnam
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film (First prize) – A. M. Rathnam
Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor – Kamal Haasan
1997 Academy Awards (United States)
Indian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Sound track
The soundtrack album includes five tracks composed by A. R. Rahman[13] and was released on 1996 by Pyramid.[14] The soundtrack proved hugely popular upon release and was also released in Hindi as Hindustani by TIPS[14] and in Telugu as Bharateeyudu by T-Series.[14] The lyrics were written by Vaali and Vairamuthu for the original version, P. K. Mishra for Hindustani and Bhuvanachandra for Bharateeyudu.
The soundtrack was also magnificent in sales and sold about 6 lakh records within days of release.[15]
Track listing
No . Title Singer Length1. "Akadanu Naanga" Swarnalatha 5:52
2. "Maya Machindra" S. P. Balasubramaniam, Swarnalatha 5:37
3. "Pachai Kiligal" (Lyrics: Vairamuthu K. J. Yesudas 5:50
4. "Telephone Manipol" Hariharan, Harini 6:15
5. "Kappaleri Poyaachu" S. P. Balasubramaniam, P. Susheela 6:28
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