''Citizen'' is a 2001 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-language
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
written and directed by
Saravana Subbiah
Saravana Subbiah is an Indian film director and actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films. He made his directorial debut with '' Citizen'' (2001), before making the romantic drama, ''ABCD'' (2005).
Career
Saravana Subbiah made his directo ...
and produced by
S. S. Chakravarthy
S. S. Chakravarthy (S.Shajahan Chakravarthy) is an Indian film producer in Tamil cinema. He has produced a number of Tamil films through his Production company is NIC Arts. Most of his films had actor Ajith Kumar & Silambarasan in the lead roles. ...
. The film stars
Ajith Kumar
Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...
in dual roles with
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
,
Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das (born 18 August 1977) is an Indian singer, musician and actress.
Vasundhara's films include ''Hey Ram'' (Tamil/Hindi), ''Monsoon Wedding'' (English), ''Citizen (film), Citizen'' (Tamil), ''Ravana Prabhu'' (Malayalam), ''Lankesh ...
and
Nagma
Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film '' Baaghi'' opposite Salman Khan in 1990. ...
playing the supporting roles. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
, and cinematography was handled by
Ravi K. Chandran
Ravi K. Chandran is an Indian cinematographer and film director known for his works in Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil-language cinema. He is the founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). His most recognized works are '' Minsa ...
. The film was released theatrically on 9 June 2001 and became a super hit at the box-office.
Plot
Abdullah runs a motorcycle workshop with a few workers. He also gives casual legal advice to the locals. A computer science student named Indhu develops a crush on him and tries to woo him, although Abdullah has nothing of it.
In a massive street protest by lawyers across the city, Abdullah, in altered appearance, kidnaps Judge Vedhachalam, after introducing himself as ‘Citizen’. Later on, Abdullah proceeds to kidnap Collector Santhanam by posing as freedom fighter Sundaramoorthy. In both kidnaps, Abdullah mentions ‘Attipatti’, which seemed to render his victims speechless.
With these two high-profile kidnappings, the case is handed over to CBI, led by Senior Officer Sarojini Harichandran. Sarojini finds out that both kidnap victims worked together in the Mayavaram division some years ago, and was involved in a riot that happened in Attipatti. However, a check with the Mayiladuthurai sub-collector's office and Nagapattinam collector's office found that there is no town or village in the area named Attipatti. She then visits the main collector's office in Tanjavur and is shocked to find out that the village Attipatti existed in records before 1973, but not in the years after that. She becomes certain that the kidnapper, too, has a link to Attipatti.
Meanwhile, Abdullah becomes irritated with Indhu, who keeps longing for his affection. He scolds her and says that she doesn't know who he really is and the pain he endures in his heart.
Through a piece of information given by the Tanjavur office, the CBI team track down a former employee of the local government, which Attipatti was under. He tells them to visit Lutheran Chapel's Father Louis, who knew every single person of Attipatti. In a visit to the Lutheran Chapel, Sarojini and her team meet Father Kuriakose who inform them that Father Louis had passed away 10 years ago, but left a box to be handed over to whichever government body that comes to the church and asks about Attipatti. After reading the letter in the box, Sarojini instructs digging near the coastal area where Attipatti once located. She and her team are horrified to find hundreds of dead bodies buried deep under. They are presumably the former inhabitants of Attipatti. Buried with them is also a tombstone bearing the names of all who perished. After a quick verification with the last census, they found out one name is missing in the tombstone, a five-year-old named Arivanandam. Father Kuriakose informs Sarojini, based on church records, a boy named Anthony was baptised on the same year the atrocity happened, and that he eventually went on to obtain Law degree. Sarojini concludes that Arivanandam and Anthony are the same person, and he is Citizen, and her further investigation leads her to Abdullah. With the CBI officers prepare to ambush Abdullah in a mosque, he manages to escape via a secret route. Sarojini discovers Citizen's secret operation room within the mosque. There she finds out Citizen's next target is DGP Devasagayam. However, at the same moment, Citizen had already kidnapped the DGP. The CBI officers receive information that Citizen is hiding in Tada forest and go after him. In the forest, Indhu comes to meet Abdullah and reveals she already knew he was Citizen some time ago and that she still likes him in spite of that. CBI officers arrive at the forest and, after some chase, finally manage to arrest the Citizen.
In the trial, a flashback scene appears where Citizen tells the court what happened in his village, Attipatti. It was a hamlet of some 700 inhabitants surrounded by the sea. Therefore, it is often flooded by the rise in water levels, causing deaths. The area's MLA had promised to build a wall in exchange for votes. However, it was never built. When the villagers, led by Citizen's father, Subramani, go to the collector's office to ask about its status, the collector turned them away, saying a wall cannot be built in that area as the number of people is too small. The villagers later found out that the Collector, together with the MLA, the DGP and the Judge, had taken for themselves some 150 million rupees allocated by the government to build the wall. After that, when the four of them visited Attipatti, the outraged villagers embarrassed them by forcing them to eat moldy rice and pouring water on them. In response, the four officials vowed to make Attipatti disappear from the map. One night, they arrived at Attipatti with some men, caught all the villagers, tied them on a boat, tortured them and pushed them to the sea, killing all except Arivanandam.
As the scene switches back to the trial, Citizen explains he didn't kidnap the MLA because he had already been punished after losing in the election. With the judge, DGP and collector in the witness stand, Citizen tells the court death penalty or life in prison is too soft a punishment for them. He says corruption exists because government officers want to provide a luxurious life for their family members. He suggests stripping the wealth and citizenship of the three and all their immediate and extended family members. The film ends with the court releasing Citizen on the grounds that he fought for the good of the country.
Cast
*
Ajith Kumar
Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...
as Arivanandham / Anthony / Abdullah (Citizen) & Subramaniam (Subramani) dual roles
*
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
as Sevali
*
Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das (born 18 August 1977) is an Indian singer, musician and actress.
Vasundhara's films include ''Hey Ram'' (Tamil/Hindi), ''Monsoon Wedding'' (English), ''Citizen (film), Citizen'' (Tamil), ''Ravana Prabhu'' (Malayalam), ''Lankesh ...
as Indhupriya
*
Nagma
Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film '' Baaghi'' opposite Salman Khan in 1990. ...
as Sarojini Harichandran
*
Nizhalgal Ravi
Ravichandran Samanna (born 16 April 1956), known professionally as Nizhalgal Ravi, is an Indian film, television and voice actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has performed in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films and television series. He st ...
as Collector Santhanam
*
Devan as DGP Devasagayam
* Mohan Natarajan as Judge Vedachalam
*
Pandiyan as Rahim Bhai, Subramani's Friend
*
Dr. Sharmila
Dr. Sharmila is a doctor, actress, social activist and YouTuber from Tamil Nadu, India. She debuted in a STAR Vijay show, ''Puthira Punithama?'' along with N. Mathrubootham, which made her popular. She went on to act in various television se ...
as Fathima, Rahim's wife
*
Cochin Hanifa
Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on to ...
as Manmadha Kutty
*
Vinu Chakravarthy
Vinu Chakravarthy (15 December 1945 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director who is known for acting in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam mostly as a comedian, supporting actor or in ...
as Minister Idithaangi Vaithiyar
*
Rajesh
Rajesh is a given name of Indian and Nepali origin.
Given name
* Rajesh (actor), South Indian actor
* Rajesh (Kannada actor), Kannada actor
* Rajesh Bishnoi, Indian cricketer
* Rajesh Chauhan, Indian cricketer
* Rajesh Gangwar, Indian social ...
as Judge Krishnan
*
Rajeev as Public Prosecutor
*
Ajay Rathnam
Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil films and serials. He is known for his supporting and negative roles and has acted in over 300 movies. Standing at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), Rathnam is one of the t ...
as ACP Krishnamoorthy
*
Chandrasekhar Chandrasekhar, Chandrashekhar or Chandra Shekhar is an Indian name and may refer to a number of individuals. The name comes from the name of an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva. In this form he married the goddess Parvati. Etymologically, the nam ...
as Church Father Louis
*
K. R. Vatsala as Devasakayam's wife
*
Sethu Vinayagam
Sethu Vinayagam was an Indian stage and film actor who worked in Tamil films. He is the member of Visu's drama troupe and mostly seen in all Visu's movies. He has acted more over 100 films and plays and has made his mark as a villain, supportin ...
as Minister
*
Master Haja Sheriff
''Master'' Haja Sheriff (born Khaja Sheriff) is an Indian actor, who primarily worked in Tamil cinema (Kollywood). He has worked in popular movies like Uthiripookkal, Suvarilladha Chiththirangal, Andha 7 Naatkal. He debuted in the 1979 film Pu ...
as Clerk
*
Mani
Mani may refer to:
Geography
* Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia
* Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad
* Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece
* Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...
as Tea master
*
Halwa Vasu
Vasu, popularly known as Halwa Vasu, (died 17 August 2017) was a comedian in the Tamil film industry in India. He worked in around 900 films.
Career
Vasu who hailed from Madurai district, came to Chennai to work in cinemas after his graduati ...
*
Pandu
In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Pandu ( sa, पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu, pale) was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities ...
as Citizen's friend
*
Pondy Ravi
Pondy Ravi is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil-language films. He has acted in over sixty films.
Career
Pondy Ravi worked as an assistant cameraman for ''Minsara Kanavu'' (1997). He has acted as a police officer in several fi ...
*
Udayaraj as Young Arivanandham
* Cell Murugan as an Advocate (Uncredited Guest Appearance)
*
Saravana Subbiah
Saravana Subbiah is an Indian film director and actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films. He made his directorial debut with '' Citizen'' (2001), before making the romantic drama, ''ABCD'' (2005).
Career
Saravana Subbiah made his directo ...
as Reporter (Guest Appearance)
*
Kanal Kannan
Kanal Kannan (born as V. Kannan) is an Indian actor, action choreographer and screenwriter who works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. He has worked with actors Mammootty, Prithviraj , Unni Mukundan
Unnikrishnan Mukund ...
in a cameo appearance as comic rowdy
*
Production
Early indications suggested that the film directed by
Saravana Subbiah
Saravana Subbiah is an Indian film director and actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films. He made his directorial debut with '' Citizen'' (2001), before making the romantic drama, ''ABCD'' (2005).
Career
Saravana Subbiah made his directo ...
was a remake of the 1973 English film ''
The Day of the Jackal
''The Day of the Jackal'' (1971) is a political thriller novel by English author Frederick Forsyth about a professional assassin who is contracted by the OAS, a French dissident paramilitary organisation, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the Presid ...
'', but it proved to be untrue.
Ajith Kumar
Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil N ...
put on weight for the film, which would feature him in nine roles, and he claimed that he was inspired by
Kamal Haasan
Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...
's award-winning performances.
Jyothika
Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films. was originally a part of the cast but opted out due to conflicting commitments. Subsequently, singer
Vasundhara Das
Vasundhara Das (born 18 August 1977) is an Indian singer, musician and actress.
Vasundhara's films include ''Hey Ram'' (Tamil/Hindi), ''Monsoon Wedding'' (English), ''Citizen (film), Citizen'' (Tamil), ''Ravana Prabhu'' (Malayalam), ''Lankesh ...
, who had earlier appeared in ''
Hey Ram
''Hey Ram'' is a 2000 Indian period crime drama film written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also stars. It was simultaneously made in Tamil and Hindi languages. Shah Rukh Khan plays a supporting role, making his debut in Tamil ci ...
,'' was chosen to play the leading lady, while
Nagma
Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film '' Baaghi'' opposite Salman Khan in 1990. ...
was selected to essay the role of a police officer.
A special feature on the making of the film was broadcast by
Sun TV in May 2001.
Gemini Ganesan
Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...
was also initially meant to play a role in the film, but his character was later altered in the script and replaced by
Pandiyan.
After 2 months of pre-production, shooting started on 28 December 2000 with Ajith and Vasundhara Das, after the former completed the shooting for his previous action thriller film
Dheena
''Dheena'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by then-debutante A. R. Murugadoss, starring Ajith Kumar, Suresh Gopi, in his Tamil debut, and Laila. The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja ...
, which was also released in 2001 during the
Thai Pongal
Pongal (, ), also referred to as Tai Pongal (), is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka. festival, with
Ravi K. Chandran
Ravi K. Chandran is an Indian cinematographer and film director known for his works in Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil-language cinema. He is the founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). His most recognized works are '' Minsa ...
as cinematographer who had replaced
P. C. Sriram
P. C. Sreeram ISC (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works in Indian films. He is also the president of Qube Cinemas, a digital cinema technology company. He is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute. A ...
in the project. The location for the Athipatty scenes was an island situated on the outskirts of Chennai, and it took three hours for the team to travel from the city and then by boat to get there. A scene filmed at Rajaji Hall featured five thousand of Ajith's fans as extras.
A song in the film was shot in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in March 2001, delaying the proposed release date of 1 May.
Release
Upon release ''Citizen'' received positive reviews from critics and was successful and completed 100-day run at the box office, justifying a relatively large budget of 8 crore. The review from
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
labelled it as a "definite milestone in Ajit's acting career". The film was commercial success.
The film was later dubbed and released as ''Citizen'' in Telugu, to positive reviews. The actor and director began to work on another project titled ''Itihasam'', written by
Sujatha and focusing on caste issues, but the production was shelved.
Soundtrack
The music was composed by
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
. All lyrics were penned by
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first ...
. The song "I Like You" is copied from "
I Feel Lonely
"I Feel Lonely" is a song recorded by German singer Sasha. It was written by Sasha, Michael "Grant Michael B." Kersting, and Stephan "Pomez di Lorenzo" Baader for Sasha's debut studio album '' Dedicated to...'' (1998), while production was overs ...
" by German singer
Sasha, and parts of "Pookara Pookara" were copied from "
Take a Chance on Me
"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in January 1978 as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' ABBA: The Album'' (1977). Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad share the lead vocals on the verses an ...
" by
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citizen (Film)
2001 films
2000s Tamil-language films
Indian films about revenge
Mass murder in fiction
Indian courtroom films
Indian action thriller films
Films scored by Deva (composer)
Films about social issues in India
Indian nonlinear narrative films
Films shot in Australia
Central Bureau of Investigation in fiction
Indian Army in films
Films set in Tamil Nadu
2001 action thriller films
Films about the caste system in India