Anniyan ( ) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film directed by Shankar and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Vikram as a meek law-abiding lawyer who has dissociative identity disorder, and develops two other identities: a playboy fashion model, and a murderous vigilante seeking to eradicate corruption in India. The cast also includes Sadha, Prakash Raj, Vivek, Nedumudi Venu, and Nassar.
Shankar conceived the film in mid-2003 during the post-production period of his previous film Boys. He based the film on his own life experiences during his formative years when he was disturbed by what he saw around him and his eventual displeasure with the society. Pre-production for Anniyan began in November 2003 and principal photography in March 2004. The making of the film, which included numerous production delays, took 14 months. The film was shot at Hyderabad, Thanjavur, Viluppuram and Chennai. The song sequences were filmed in Mumbai, Malaysia, Amsterdam and Tenkasi. The film was notable for its recreation of the Tyagaraja Aradhana music festival and the extensive use of time slice photography in an action sequence.
Cinematographer V. Manikandan discontinued the project halfway through, until he was replaced with Ravi Varman. The technical departments were headed by V. T. Vijayan (editing), Sabu Cyril (production design), and Peter Hein (action choreography). The soundtrack was composed by Harris Jayaraj, who was in his first collaboration with the director. The film was touted as the director's magnum opus and was budgeted at 26.3 crore, making it the most expensive Indian film during the time of its release. Notably, it was the first South Indian film to obtain institutional finance, and it had the highest insurance coverage available for films at that time.
Anniyan was released on 17 June 2005 to positive reviews from critics and became a major commercial success, and in addition to winning a record breaking eight Filmfare Awards and six State Film Awards, it also won a National Award in the Special Effects category. The film became the second highest grossing Tamil film of the year, just below Chandramukhi.
Plot Ramanujam "Ambi" Iyengar is a highly principled but deeply frustrated consumer protection advocate residing in Thiruvallikeni, Chennai. He strictly adheres to civil laws and routinely attempts to prosecute public offenders; however, his legal efforts consistently fail due to systemic corruption and a lack of cooperative evidence. Met with public apathy and widespread indifference to his civic awareness campaigns, Ambi's repressed psychological rage triggers the manifestation of an alter ego named Anniyan. Operating as a grim-reaper-themed vigilante, Anniyan launches a website to compile a database of corrupt individuals. He systematically assassinates these wrongdoers using torturous execution methods inspired by the Garuda Purana, an ancient Hindu scripture detailing punishments in hell.
Ambi harbors an unspoken affection for his neighbor, Nandini, an aspiring Carnatic vocalist. When he finally gathers the courage to propose to her during the annual Tyagaraja Aradhana festival with the help of his friend, Sub-Inspector Chari, she flatly rejects him, citing his overbearing nature, constant nitpicking, and rigid perfectionism. Devastated, Ambi attempts suicide by drowning, though he backs out at the last second. The profound emotional trauma fractures his psyche further, creating a third personality: Remo, a charismatic, metrosexual fashion model. In stark contrast to Ambi, Remo's polished charm completely captivates Nandini, and the two quickly become engaged.
The personalities collide when Nandini attempts to purchase a plot of land for her dowry and intentionally undervalues the property to evade government stamp duty. While Ambi refuses to abet her white-collar crime, Remo takes her on a date later that evening. Mid-encounter, Remo abruptly transitions into Anniyan, who binds Nandini and prepares to execute her for corruption. Terrified, Nandini screams out for Ambi, who regains control of his body and collapses.
Nandini admits Ambi to NIMHANS, where the chief psychiatrist Dr. Vijaykumar diagnoses Ambi with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Through recovered-memory therapy, the Vijaykumar uncovers a foundational childhood trauma. When Ambi was ten years old, he helplessly witnessed the electrocution and death of his younger sister, Vidya, caused directly by stagnant rainwater and a civic line worker's negligence. Vijaykumar discovers that while Anniyan and Remo possess full awareness of Ambi, Ambi remains completely oblivious to them. Vijaykumar determines that Remo will permanently dissolve once Nandini genuinely reciprocates Ambi's love, but warns that Anniyan will persist until society fully reforms. Nandini embraces Ambi's true self, causing Remo to vanish.
Concurrently, DCP Prabhakar and Chari spearhead the investigation into Anniyan's murders, deciphering the scriptural clues left at the crime scenes. Prabhakar is personally driven to neutralize the vigilante, as his older brother, a corrupt railway catering contractor, was murdered by Anniyan. During a high-profile public gathering, Anniyan makes a dramatic appearance to the press, defending his executions by asserting that India can only match the prosperity of developed nations if its citizenry adopts absolute personal accountability.
Using digital forensics to track Anniyan's IP address and analyzing facial recognition data, Prabhakar identifies Ambi as the killer and arrests him. During interrogation, Ambi passes a polygraph test, proving his genuine ignorance of the crimes. Enraged, Prabhakar brutally tortures Ambi, utilizing the exact methods from the Garuda Purana. The near-death agony forces Anniyan to surface. Ambi's psyche rapidly alternates between the two personas; he brutally assaults Prabhakar as Anniyan while weeping and begging for mercy as Ambi, all of which is covertly recorded by Chari.
When Ambi is taken to court and tried for the murders committed by Anniyan, Chari presents the footage he recorded, and Vijaykumar presents reports of Ambi's medical diagnosis. Deemed mentally unfit, Ambi is acquitted of criminal charges and remanded to a psychiatric facility.
Two years later, a seemingly cured Ambi is released, exhibiting a more relaxed, accommodating demeanor. He marries Nandini and embarks on their honeymoon. While traveling by train, Ambi spots a heavily intoxicated passenger, the exact line worker whose negligence caused Vidya's death. Ambi covertly hurls him from the speeding train to his death while concealing the incident from Nandini, revealing that he and Anniyan have achieved a seamless, symbiotic equilibrium.
Cast
Production Pre-production During the making of his Hindi film directorial debut Nayak starring Anil Kapoor in early 2001, director S. Shankar had conceived a science fiction film titled Robot. A futuristic techno-thriller set in 22nd century Chennai, the film was to star Kamal Haasan and Preity Zinta. However, after completing a photo-shoot featuring the two, the production was shelved due to various reasons, including Haasan's unavailability of dates and creative differences with the director. Shankar postponed the project indefinitely and made the coming of age film, Boys (2003). When the post-production work of Boys was underway, Shankar was awaiting the return of its composer A. R. Rahman, who was then outside India, to complete the background score. In the meantime, Shankar had an idea for a storyline and called Vikram, who expressed enthusiasm for the subject.
Development
Following the release of Boys in August 2003, Shankar began work on his next directorial venture, entitled Anniyan. It was initially thought to be Shankar's pet project Robot revived with a new title, but this was later proven not to be correct. Shankar said the film was his "dream project" and disclosed that it would be a racy, fantasy-thriller. When questioned on how the idea behind the film had come to him, the director revealed, "The seeds of all my movies were sown when I was young, long before I started making movies. So many things disturbed me, and these stayed with me. Those were the seeds. I make films based on them."
With the highest production value among Tamil films of its time, the film was touted to be the director's magnum opus and was labelled "the most eagerly awaited film of the year" by the media. The film deals with a person having dissociative identity disorder, commonly known as "multiple personality disorder" (MPD) or "split personality syndrome". It was compared to Chandramukhi, released two months before, as it also focused on a character with the same syndrome.
Casting To portray the lead character, Shankar needed a performer who could play an action hero. He chose Vikram as he felt that the actor, in addition to being a performer, had the image of an action hero. While his casting was made public in a November 2003 news report announcing the project's inception, the director revealed that Vikram was added to the cast in mid-2003 and refuted theories that the actor's casting was to capitalise on his new-found popularity following his success at the National Film Awards, where he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Pithamagan (2003). Stating that Vikram was selected for the lead role months before the theatrical release of Pithamagan, Shankar added, "I don't look at actors that way." He further remarked that Vikram was the "life and soul" of Anniyan.
The heroine role of a "devoted Iyengar Brahmin girl" was originally offered to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was too busy to accommodate production dates. After months of waiting for her call sheet, Shankar eventually offered the role to Sadha. Expressing hope that it would be "an important movie" in her career, Sadha accepted the offer, working on the film for 120 days, adding, "I have a major role to play in Anniyan. There are few heavy portions involving me in the movie that I have given my best." She considered being a part of a Shankar film, especially during the early stages of her career, as a "god's gift" and a "once-in-a-lifetime experience". However, when offered similar roles following the film's success, she refused to be typecast and stated, "I am now looking for roles where my creative potential is tapped. I don't want to be part of such cinema where all one has to do is dance around trees."
Vivek, Prakash Raj, Nedumudi Venu and Nassar appear in supporting roles. Mohan Vaidhya, a carnatic vocalist and occasional actor, plays a minuscule role as Sadha's father Krishna. Malavika Avinash was approached to play Vikram's mother; she rejected the offer, stating, "I am too young to do a screen mom and too old to be a heroine!" Cochin Haneefa, Charle, Kalabhavan Mani, Shanmugarajan and Saurabh Shukla make cameo appearances as delinquent citizens. Haneefa played an indifferent car owner who refuses to help an accident victim as he does not want his "brand new car" to be soiled with blood. Following Haneefa's death in February 2010, Vikram recalled the actor's appearance in the film and said, "Though he'd come only in a few scenes no one could miss him. For roles that have some ambiguity about whether it's a good guy or a bad guy, he is one of the best choices. Until the end, one cannot really guess if he'll end up being good or bad." Comedian and character artiste Charle played an unnamed wastrel and alcoholic who extorts money from his ageing parents for his expenses and is considered by Anniyan to be a liability to society. Charle was instructed by Shankar, "People should see only the character. Only later should they realise that it was Charle."