''Athma'' () is a 1993 Indian

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 Pudu ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Pratap Pothen Pratap Pothen (13 August 1952 – 15 July 2022) was an Indian actor and filmmaker who acted in about 100 films and directed 12 films. He appeared in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu as well as Hindi films. He also worked as a scriptwriter and produ ...

. The film stars

Ramki Ramakrishnan, better known by his stage name Ramki, is an Indian actor best known for his work in Tamil and Telugu films. He made his debut in ''Chinna Poove Mella Pesu'' (1987). He was a lead actor from 1987 to 2004. He was known for his per ...

, Rahman,

Nassar Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...

Gautami Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South India ...

and Kasthuri. The film, produced by Ajitha Hari, had musical score by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

and was released on 30 July 1993.

Plot

Raghu ( Rahman), an atheist archaeologist, and his father (

Vijayachander Vijayachander, (born Vijayachander Telidevara), is an Indian actor, director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television. Regarded as one of the finest character actor's of Telugu cinema, Vijayachander has appear ...

) went to an isolated village for research. During the research, his father disappears mysteriously and Raghu finds out a strange prophecy: God will come to earth on Purnima day at the Nagakali Amman temple and the people who will submerge completely under the waterfall near the Nagakali Amman temple will be cured of any disease. His colleague Pathma (

Vinodhini Vinodhini is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films and Tamil serials. Beginning her acting career as a child artist, she went on to play lead and supporting roles before acting in television series as well. ...

) informs her blind friend Divya (

) who is a journalist and the news reaches the public. Pathma is in love with Naveen (

Riyaz Khan Riyaz Khan is an Indian actor and bodybuilder. He predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and television series, besides acting in a few Telugu and Kannada films, as well as two Hindi films. Riyaz debuted in Malayalam through the 1994 ...

), who is in the final stages of cancer. Soon, an atheist terrorist group, led by Saravanan (

), try to destroy the temple. Saravanan has a tragic past: his sister and his brother-in-law were a devotee who was brutally killed by the temple's donor. In the meantime, the police officer Hari (Nassar), Divya's brother, is charged with eradicating the terrorist group. Pathma believes in this prophecy, so she marries Naveen and takes him to the temple. Divya compels Hari to come with him to restore her sight and he agrees to do so. Few days before the God's arrival, the Nagakali Amman temple is overcrowded. A race against the clock starts.

Cast

as Saravanan / Vignesh * Rahman as Raghu *

as Hari *

as Divya * Kasthuri as Uma *

as Pathma * Vaani * C. R. Vijayakumari as Guhai Amma *

as Raghu's father and Nagalinga Siddhar *

as Naveen *

Senthil Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.Sathyapriya Sathyapriya is an Indian actress. She has acted in over 350 films, and played the heroine in a few of them. She made her debut in ''Manjal Mugame Varuga'' opposite Vijayakumar in Tamil. Her notable films include ''Besuge'', ''Dharmasere'', ''H ...

as Naveen's mother * Sangeetha as Saravanan's sister * Surekha *

Vennira Aadai Moorthy Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...

as Kattabomman * A. K. Veerasamy as Esakki Muthu *

Chinni Jayanth Chinni Jayanth (born Krishnamurthy Narayanan on 26 July 1960) is an Indian film director, producer, comedian, actor and mimicry artist who has appeared in many main, character and supporting roles in Tamil films. He is also a popular televisio ...

as Erimalai *

R. S. Shivaji R. S. Shivaji (born 26 October 1956) is an Indian actor, who is known for his work in Tamil films. He has often collaborated in films involving Kamal Haasan and Raaj Kamal Films International, working as an assistant director, sound designer an ...

as Shiva *

Subbu Panchu Arunachalam Subramaniam Panchu Arunachalam, credited as Subbu Panchu or P. Ar. Subramaniam (born 16 February 1973) is an Indian actor and film producer. Son of noted writer-producer Panchu Arunachalam, Subbu first appeared as a child artist in the Malayala ...

as Anil * Vaithy *

LIC Narasimhan LIC Narasimhan was an Indian character actor who appeared in Tamil-language films. He has appeared in over 300 films and was also seen on the small screen and in ads. He was working for LIC as an officer, quit his job to take up a career in ...

Ramesh Khanna Ramesh Khanna (also spelt as Ramesh Kanna) is an Indian actor and film director who has worked in Tamil cinema. He has acted in a number of supporting and comedian roles. Early life Khanna was born on 12 June 1954 in Chennai and third child to ...

* Thidir Kanniah *

Thalapathi Dinesh Thalapathy Dinesh (also spelled Thalapathi Dinesh) is an Indian action choreographer who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He started his career in the cinema as an extra fighter in '' Naan Sigappu Manithan'' and later he became as a stunt master and ...

Vichithra Vichithra is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Tamil films. She has also appeared in a few Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. Career Her breakthrough came in the form of a glamorous role in Selva's ''Thalaivasal'' (1992), w ...

in a special appearance

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

(except "Ninaikkindra Paadhaiyil"), with lyrics written by Vaali.

Reception

K. Vijiyan of

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

said, "It takes courage to attempt a movie like this, and Prathap's story grabs your attention".

References

External links

* {{Pratap Pothen 1990s Tamil-language films 1993 films 1993 thriller films Films directed by Pratap Pothen Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian thriller films