Anniyan (2005)

Ramanujam, who suffers from multiple personality disorder, works as a lawyer by day and a vigilante at night. He uses tips from the 'Garuda Purana' as his tools to expose various antisocial elements.

Director:

S. Shankar

Writers:

Gopal Ram (hindi dialogue), S. Shankar (screenplay)

Stars:

Vikram, Sada, Prakash Raj

Top Rated Indian Movies #52 | 17 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vikram	...	Ramanujam Iyengar 'Ambi' / Anniyan / Remo
Sada	...	Nandini
Prakash Raj	...	Officer Prabhakar
Vivek	...	Chari
Nedumudi Venu	...	Parthasarathy Iyengar
Nassar	...	Psychiatrist (as Nasser)
Kalabhavan Mani	...	House Owner
Cochin Hanifa	...	The Person Who Stops His New Car
Saurabh Shukla	...	Break Company Owner
Charlie	...	Wastrel
Sriranjani	...	Nandhini's mother
Mohan Vaidya	...	Krishna Iyengar
Manobala	...	TTR
Shanmugha Rajan	...	Chockalingam
Amarasigamani	...	Police

Storyline

Ambi is a meek lawyer, who wishes to change the society. But, because of his oft-repeated concern, people don't take him seriously. Besides, Nandini, the girl whom he loves, also rejects her because of this. This makes Ambi shattered, not before he encounters a website Aparichit.com, visiting which creates an alter ego inside Ambi's mind. For the girl he loves, he becomes a supermodel named Remo, and for the entire nation, to reform it, he becomes a vigilante named Aparichit, who not only teaches people the importance of following the rules, but also punishes them if they don't follow.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | multiple personality disorder | boiling someone alive | leech | internet | 

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Taglines:

He who comes from hell is not afraid of hot ashes!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Imported fighters as well as martial artists from all over the state were used in the multi-opponent fight scene.

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Goofs

Ambi, who always talks so much about rules, doesn't wear a helmet.

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Quotes

Ramanujam 'Ambi' Iyengar: Nandi, you got to get out of this place, he is dangerous.

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Crazy Credits

The film's title in the film is shown as Aparichit - The Stranger.

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Alternate Versions

The film's Hindi DVD version doesn't contain the "Iyengaar Ghar Ki" song, while it exists in the soundtrack of the film. Whether the theatrical print contained the song or not is unknown.

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Connections

References The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

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Soundtracks

Kumari
(Hindi)
Produced by Harris Jayaraj
written by Mehboob
performed by Unnikrishnan & Harini
Music label: Venus

User Reviews

Anniyan is what every movie wants to be: An entertainer

Shankar and Vikram have done a fantastic job. Director Shankar is turning into a professional high-quality perfectionist. Actor Vikram, charged with a National award for Best Actor (2004) is on a roll. His performance is classy and comparable to many great actors of Tamil cinema.

Anniyan is definitely worth watching at least once. Forget about the critics who list past movies from which various aspects of Anniyan (like concept, theme, stunts, music) was inspired (or copied). It is easier to make the original than to make a copy as the original serves as a hard benchmark. It is hard to replicate something while maintaining audience interest. Shankar does this job to a more-than-satisfying extent.

Besides, when great directors like Steven Spielberg copy past movies (War of the worlds) with the confidence of providing the viewers something worthwhile to watch, I don't see anything wrong in Shankar's Anniyan. Yet, Anniyan is NOT a complete copy and it is definitely MORE than the sum of its parts.

Anniyan has stunts that were never before seen in any Tamil movie. Shankar has provided the opportunity to the (uneducated mass of) Tamil audience of watching world-class stunts in a movie that they can understand (as against most Hollywood flicks that have the action but make no sense to them). So what, if it has been copied? Matrix Reloaded being largely mystifying and unexplained, even to most native-English speakers, could not justify to the (masses of the) Tamil audience as to why all the action exists!!??. But that is not the case with Anniyan.

To sum it all up, Anniyan is what a movie should really be. A classy entertainer. Good songs, great cinematography, wonderful (although sometimes unbelievable) stunts, great acting performance, nice comedy and classic direction. Watch the movie without prejudice and be entertained.

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Tamil

Release Date:

10 June 2005 (India)

Also Known As:

The Stranger

Filming Locations:

India

Box Office

Budget:

INR280,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Oscar Films International, Oscar Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

181 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1