Virumaandi

Synopsis

Virumaandi is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, co-edited, produced, and directed by Kamal Haasan, who also performed in the title role. The film revolves around the interview of two prison inmates, firstly, Kothala Thevar’s (Pasupathy) life sentence, and secondly, Virumaandi (Haasan), who is sentenced to be hanged. The criminals express how they feel about the direction that their lives have taken and how they have ended up where they are. The film’s narrative is based on the Rashomon effect. The film revolves around the controversy of the death penalty.

The cast also includes Abhirami, Napoleon, Rohini, Shanmugarajan, and Nassar in pivotal roles. The film’s score and soundtrack were composed by Ilayaraaja. It was dubbed into Telugu as Pothuraju. The film won critical acclaim and was a commercial success at the box office. This film acquired cult status in Tamil cinema and inspired similar themes.

• Kamal Haasan as Virumaandi
• Abhirami as Annalakshmi
• Pasupathy as Kothala Thevar
• Napoleon as Nallama Naicker
• Rohini as Dr. Angela Kaathamuthu
• Shanmugarajan as Deputy Jailer Paykkaman
• Nassar as Chief Jailer Jayanth
• S. N. Lakshmi as Virumaandi’s grandmother
• Pyramid Natarajan as Advocate Vaidyanathan
• Periya Karuppu Thevar as Temple Priest
• O. A. K. Sundar as Kottaisamy
• Sujatha Sivakumar as Pechi (Kothala’s wife)
• Bala Singh as Rasu Kalai
• Thennavan as Kondarasu
• G. Gnanasambandam as Jallikattu Commentator
• Karate Raja as Virumandi’s friend
• Kadhal Sukumar as Virumandi’s friend
• Kottachi Marimuthu as Virumandi’s friend
• Sai Dheena as Jail Warden
• Rajesh
• Ganthimathi
• Bagla as Oomayan