''Achchamundu! Achchamundu!'' ( There is fear! There is fear!) is a 2009 Indian-American

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of P ...

social thriller A social thriller is a film genre using elements of suspense and horror to augment instances of apparent oppression in society. The genre gained attention in 2017 with the release of Jordan Peele's ''Get Out'', a film highlighting occurrences ...

directed by

Arun Vaidyanathan Arun Vaidyanathan (born in Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu, India) is an Indian-American film director, producer and screenwriter of feature films, short films and television dramas. He directed his first full-length feature film in Tamil, '' Achchamun ...

, starring Prasanna, Emmy Award–winning American actor

John Shea John Victor Shea III ( ; born April 14, 1949) is an American actor, film producer and stage director. His career began on Broadway theatre, Broadway where he starred in ''Yentl (play), Yentl,'' subsequently winning his first major award, the 1975 ...

and Sneha. It is the first film in

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

to be shot with the Red One camera system. The music was composed by

Karthik Raja Karthik Raja is an India composer based in Chennai, India. He made his debut as film composer in the Tamil film ''Pandiyan'' (1992) and went on to score music for many critically and commercially acclaimed feature films. Personal life Karthik ...

with cinematography by Chris Freilich. The film was released on 17 July 2009 worldwide.

Plot

Senthil Kumar ( Prasanna) and Malini ( Sneha) are a happily married couple in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, living life like any other born-in-India, arrived-in-the-US couple do. Senthil submerges himself in the office and eats sambar rice at home, and Malini never misses a bhajan at the temple and shops at Indian stores. They have a 10-year-old daughter Rithika (Akshaya Dinesh), the apple of their eyes (their car's license plate carries the name of their daughter). The family has just settled down in a new, spacious home about which Malini, understandably, has fears. The couple squabbles amicably about everything from Malini's perpetual laundry and cooking; while Senthil argues with friends about the significance of viboothi and takes his family on weekend trips and birthday parties. It is a normal, happy life in the US until Robertson (

) arrives, to paint the basement. Now, things are never the same at home again. Robertson's unusually kind behavior towards children sets off warning bells in your head, especially when he is shown to be a pedophile who exercises like mad within the confines of his home, always moving on towards his next target. How the couple saves their child forms the rest of the story.

Cast

* Prasanna as Senthil Kumar *

as Robertson * Sneha as Malini * Akshaya Dinesh as Rithika

Production

Title

The film's title is the inverse of the phrase "Achamillai Achamillai" coined by poet Subramania Bharati, and later used as the title of a 1984 film directed by

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

Filming

The film was made in 28 days on a budget of ₹3.25 crore (worth ₹11 crore in 2021 prices). For the first time in Indian cinema, Red One camera was used for filming. The film was shot in New Jersey and New York during early 2008. Color correction and sound mixing were done in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Release

The movie was released on 17 July 2009 in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and select markets in the United States.

Reception

The film was officially selected for screening at the 12th

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

(under the International Panorama category), the Digital Cinema Film Festival in Japan, the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year si ...

, the International Film Festival of India in Goa, and the

Chennai International Film Festival The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) is a festival organised in the city of Chennai, India, by a film society, the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), with the support of The Government of Tamil Nadu, the South Indian Film Ch ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

Reception

''Rediff'' wrote "For the guts in coming up with a unique, important theme that needs to be addressed sensitively, this movie works. A must-watch". ''Behindwoods'' wrote "Although the theme of child abuse is a serious issue and has the potency to take on a different shade with even the slightest skew, Arun Vaidhyanathan has done a tightrope walking commendably with absolutely no shades of vulgarity or impropriety. Kudos for tackling such a sensitive subject with a lot of sensibility and acumen!". ''The Times of India'' wrote "The average Indian may shy away from paedophilia, but director Vaidyanathan makes a compelling case to watch this film. Subtlety is the byword here rather than gory, knife-edge moments. The approach makes a deeper impression than a dramatic one could have." A critic from ''Deccan Herald'' opined that "Despite its shortcomings, ‘Achamundu Achamundu’ deserves a dekko".

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Website

Director's Blog
* {{IMDb title, id=tt1213631

''The Seoul Times'' review
Indian thriller films American thriller films Films set in New Jersey Films shot in New Jersey Films about women in the Indian diaspora 2009 films Films scored by Karthik Raja Films about child abuse 2000s Tamil-language films 2009 directorial debut films Films directed by Arun Vaidyanathan 2000s American films