Anbe Sivam

Anbe Sivam

Anbe Sivam is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film directed by Sundar C. Sundar. The film was written by Kamal Haasan, and Madhan provided the dialogues. It was released on 15 January 2003 to positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office. The movie tells the story of an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai undertaken by two men of contrasting personalities.

About Anbe Sivam in brief

Summary Anbe SivamAnbe Sivam is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film directed by Sundar C. Sundar. The film was written by Kamal Haasan, and Madhan provided the dialogues. It was released on 15 January 2003 to positive reviews from critics, but underperformed at the box office. Despite its failure, it gained recognition over the years through re-runs on television channels and is now regarded as a classic and a cult film in Tamil cinema. The movie tells the story of an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai undertaken by two men of contrasting personalities, Nallasivam and Anbarasu. It takes on several themes, including communism, atheism, and altruism, and depicts Haasan’s views as a humanist. It received nominations in the Best Film and Best Actor categories at the 51st Filmfare Awards South, and was awarded Best Actor at the 2003 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. The musical score was composed by Vidyasagar and the cinematography and art direction were by Arthur A. Wilson and M. Prabhaharan. It is screened as part of the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India in 2003, and received a Special Jury Award and nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress at the Tamil Nadu Film Awards in 2003. The soundtrack was composed and released by V. V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal under the banner of Lakshmi Movie Makers. It has been described as one of the most successful Tamil films of all time, with a box-office success of over $1.5 billion in India and $1 billion worldwide.

It also has a cult status in the Tamil community, with many fans of the film claiming it is a “must-see” film for the Tamil film buff, especially after the death of actor Vinod Khanna in 2011. The plot centres around two men, one of whom is scarred, disfigured, and partially paralysed for life. Both need to return to Chennai: Aras to be present at his wedding, and Nalla has to deliver a ₹3,200,000 cheque, recently awarded to him after he won a court case, to a group of union workers. After a traumatic night, and no hope for a flight, the two men take a bus to board the Coromandel Express train. Aras’ bag gets stolen on the way leaving him with only his credit card, which no one accepts. Using his presence of mind, Nalla repeatedly bails Aras out of trouble while Aras tries escaping from him at every juncture, only to end up with him again. Nalla becomes a firm believer in kindness and love. Despite suffering from an inferiority complex due to his scarred and deformed body, he performs community service with renewed fervour while continuing to fight for social causes. He tells Aras that he was invited to the wedding by Padayatchi, the factory owner who refused to give his workers a raise.