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, nati ...
-language
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 ...
directed by
K. S. Ravi
K. S. Ravi (1959 2010
) was an Indian film director of Tamil and Telugu films. His films included a mixture of genres from dramas to action thrillers.
Personal life
Ravi was born in 1959 in Paramakudi, Ramnad district. He was born to Mr. K ...
. The film stars
Vijayakanth
Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami (born 25 August 1952), better known by his stage name Vijayakanth, is an Indian politician and former actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Leg ...
,
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
Aamani
Aamani is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Telugu films in addition to a few Tamil and Kannada films. She made her debut in a lead role opposite Naresh in the Telugu film '' Jamba Lakidi Pamba'' (1992), directed by E. V. V. ...
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.Vijayakumar, and
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 ...
play supporting roles. It marked the debut of
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 ...
in Tamil cinema. The film, produced by G. Thyagarajan, was released on 14 April 1994 to positive reviews. The film was remade in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
as ''
Rakshak
''Rakshak'' () is 1996 Indian Bollywood, Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Ashok Honda, starring Sunil Shetty, Karisma Kapoor, Raghuvaran, Sonali Bendre, Alok Nath and Aruna Irani. It is a remake of the Tamil language, Tamil film ...
'' (1996).
Plot
"Honest" Raj (
Vijayakanth
Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami (born 25 August 1952), better known by his stage name Vijayakanth, is an Indian politician and former actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Leg ...
), a police officer in a coma for four years, wakes up suddenly. Abhinaya (
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 ...
), a newly appointed doctor, saves him from a killer with the help of Raj's assistant Velu (
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.Manorama) in Chennai. Maragatham was a Bank officer, and Raj was a graduate searching for a job. When Maragatham's Bank was taken hostage, Raj came to rescue and defeated the robbers. The City police reward him, and the commissioner asks him to attempt Public service exams for
Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj.
Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
.Raj complies and after the exams, mom-son duo visit Maragatham's native village for a vacation. Pushpa (
Aamani
Aamani is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Telugu films in addition to a few Tamil and Kannada films. She made her debut in a lead role opposite Naresh in the Telugu film '' Jamba Lakidi Pamba'' (1992), directed by E. V. V. ...
), a village girl, fell in love with Raj and they get engaged. Raj's best friend Varatha ( Devan) attempted to suicide after his father's creditors pressured him. Raj saved him, and Varatha lent his printing press company to Pazhani. Raj and Pushpa got married, and he passed the IPS exam successfully. Varatha found counterfeit money in his factory and started an illegal business with Pazhani. Bharatha then became rich and killed his partners.
Raj came back with his mother, wife, and son Babloo to see Varatha. Raj found an illegal business thanks to Kesavan (
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 ...
), a former henchman of Varatha. Even though Varatha was his best friend, Raj tried to arrest him. Varatha soon killed his wife and mother. To save at least Babloo, Raj was hurt by bullets and lapsed into a coma. Gopalakrishnan ( Vijayakumar), a veteran police officer, took care of Babloo.
Raj decides to take revenge and punish the culprit. Varatha kidnaps Babloo and threatens to kill him. Raj saves Babloo; kills Varatha, who does not want to surrender; and marries Abhinaya.
Cast
*
Vijayakanth
Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami (born 25 August 1952), better known by his stage name Vijayakanth, is an Indian politician and former actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Leg ...
as "Honest" Raj IPS, Additional SP, Crime Branch Special Officer
*
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 ...
as Dr. Abhinaya
*
Aamani
Aamani is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Telugu films in addition to a few Tamil and Kannada films. She made her debut in a lead role opposite Naresh in the Telugu film '' Jamba Lakidi Pamba'' (1992), directed by E. V. V. ...
as Pushpa
* Manorama as Maragatham, Raj's mother
* Devan as Varadharajan
*
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.Vijayakumar as Gopalakrishnan
*
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 ...
Ajay Ratnam
Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in 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 tallest actors in ...
as Muthiah
*
Madhan Bob
S. Krishnamoorthy (born 19 October 1953) professionally known as Madhan Bob, is an Indian actor and comedian, appearing in many Tamil films in supporting roles. Madhan Babu is known for his amusing facial expressions, laughter and protruding ey ...
*
Mohan Raman
Mohan Raman, also known as Mohan V. Ram (born 3 April 1956), is an Indian actor and writer. In 2017 and 2019, he was a Jury member for the National Film Award for Best Writing on Cinema. Raman is a film historian and writes for ''The Hindu''. He ...
*Ganapathy Subramaniam as Bablu
Soundtrack
The music was composed 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 ...
''Honest Raj'' was released on 14 April 1994, during the
Puthandu
Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cal ...
holiday. The film opened up against other films like ''
Indhu
''Indhu'' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language dance film directed by Pavithran and produced by N. A. Sudhakar and K. P. Unnikrishnan. The film featured Prabhu Deva, appearing in his first leading role as the newcomer, alongside Roja, while Sarathku ...
Sakthivel
''Sakthivel '' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film stars Selva, Kanaka and Vijayakumar. The film, produced by M. Saravanan and M. Balasubramanian, had musical score by Ilaiyaraaja and was released ...
'' and '' Seeman'', which were released in the same week. MM of ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' wrote, "Ravi's tightly knit screenplay and deft handling .give an added dimension to the characters and make the film engrossing". 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 ' ...
'' wrote "Ravi's use of flashbacks and his treatment of the story lift this movie from ordinary and prevent it from turning dreary". Thulasi of ''
Kalki
Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...
'' called it a good Vijayakanth after a long time.
Rocky Rajesh
Rocky Rajesh (born as Rajesh) is an Indian fight master/action choreographer, mainly in Kollywood. He did the stunts for ''Khokababu'' ''The Hindu'' said that his stunt work in the film ''Daas'' "looks so dangerous that it is ludicrous when th ...
won the
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Stunt Coordinator
The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Stunt Co-ordinator is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films.
The list
Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which the ...