25 Years On, Kamal Haasans Kuruthipunal Has Aged Better Than Many Of Its Contemporaries

I remember watching Kuruthipunal (′River of Blood’; 1995) when I was still in college and staggering out of the theatre in shock. That feeling stayed with me the entire week and I went back thrice.

With each additional viewing, as the emotional impact dulled, I could appreciate the police action thriller more and more for its impeccable performances and powerful screenplay, all contained within a bare-bones structure that eschewed the usual song-and-dance routines of Tamil cinema. Even the violence seemed necessary rather than gratuitous.

Another big departure from the norm was that in this action flick, the reel cops — Kamal Haasan as Adhi and Arjun as Abbas — behaved like real ones who displayed intelligence and strategy against their ruthless Naxal adversary Badri (played by Nassar). In this movie, killing the baddies was not as important as capturing and questioning them. For a while, Kuruthipunal became the gold standard to which I held all Tamil movies, and most predictably failed. 

Kuruthipunal was released on 23 October, 1995, and 2020 marks the 25 year since it first hit theatres. Now is a good time as any to look back on the film’s impact. Has it aged well? How well will it sit with an audience today? How do its technical aspects measure up to today’s standards?  

Right movie, wrong time?

Kuruthipunal is widely seen as a classic now, but it was perhaps a little too ahead of its time when it was released. It became India’s submission to the 68 Academy Awards (although it was not nominated), but it confounded Tamil audiences back then and did not do nearly as well at the box office as superstar Rajinikanth ’s Muthu, which was released on the same date. The movies could not have been more dissimilar. Muthu was a rather regressive tale of romantic cross-connections set in a land of semi-fantastical proportions. Kuruthipunal was rooted in realism and so removed from the cinematic conventions of the time that even Kamal’s fanatical fans did not give the film the chance it deserved. 

The 1990s were a dismal decade for Tamil cinema, and the parallel movement that had shot off in the 1970s had slowed to a crawl (the post 2000 new wave was still some distance away). At this time, reigning stars Rajini and Kamal had both slowed their pace considerably from the prolific 80s. However, while Rajini continued to focus on commercial blockbusters, Kamal (in addition to a clutch of comedies) began to increasingly work on prestige projects such as Gunaa (1991), Thevar Magan (1992), Mahanadhi (1994), and Nammavar (1995). Kuruthipunal was a worthy addition to this canon. There were no songs in the film and very little melodrama, which meant it went completely against the grain. Unsurprisingly, Kamal Haasan ended up having to produce the film since no one else was willing to take the risk.

Most Tamil blockbusters then were crassly commercial and played to the front rows. On the opposite spectrum were odd arthouse creations such as Mogamul and Kolangal — both made in 1995 — that were elitist and collected all the awards. 

Kuruthipunal, an adaptation of Govind Nihalani’s Drohkaal (‘Times of Treason’; 1994), did not belong in either of these categories. Although it did not offer the usual populist formula, it was a taut, accessible, and eminently watchable thriller featuring an all-star cast, which in addition to Kamal and Arjun included Nassar, K Viswanath, Gautami, and Geetha. Even the bit parts were memorable, especially John Edathattil as the Naxalite Narasimham, Subhalekha Sudhakar as the slimy terrorist Soori, and Ajay Rathnam (a long-time, valuable collaborator of Kamal) as an RPG shooter. 

The movie was directed by ace cinematographer P C Sreeram, who was also behind the lens. However, Kamal’s screenplay was the glue that held the movie together. 

Enduring themes

The film was radical for its time, making a deep, disturbing probe into what differentiates a cop and a terrorist. At its core was a question that remains relevant to this day, across different contexts – is a cop merely a tool in the hands of a wrathful state? 

Kamal always gets his homework done and that is apparent in his screenplay. Though the fundamental idea — two cops in a top-secret mission attempting to infiltrate a Naxal group — came from Nihalani, Kamal brilliantly adapted it for Tamil audiences.

The movie starts and ends with a letter Adi writes to his superiors in the police department, drawing attention to the rising terrorism in the country. In the next few scenes, we are told about ‘Operation Dhanush’, in which two cops infiltrate the camp of Naxal mastermind Badri. One of them takes his own life instead of allowing the Naxals to capture him.

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However, this is a film in which both the protagonists and antagonists are shown as standing to suffer crippling and humiliating losses, and where the heroes also have shades of grey. Adi slowly gets to find out how porous his department is and how Badri has him in a corner. For many parts of the film, Badri holds the upper hand until Adi makes a decisive and disastrous (for himself) decision in the climax. The vulnerabilities of the cops are also allowed to glimmer through, such as during a scene in which Adi confesses to his wife Sumitra (Gautami) that he is scared and on the “losing side”. 

The final moments are harrowing to watch, especially given the bloody facial make-up, but it brings out the best in both Kamal and Arjun. 

Interestingly, Arjun’s character Abbas is a Muslim, a detail that becomes relevant only in a crucial funeral sequence (I will not say more so as to avoid spoilers).

Technical highlights

There is no doubt about it: Kuruthipunal is a great action movie. From the harrowing opening schoolbus bombing sequence to the tense shootout at a train station in which Arjun kills Nizhalgal Ravi’s character, the film is filled with elaborately staged action. Stunt choreographer Vikram Dharma outdoes himself in the rocket launcher segment. PC’s camera work as he captures Kamal’s Adi Narayanan chasing Ajay Ratnam’s character through the forest is dazzling.

Notably, Kamal contributed to the much-admired (and gory) make-up design for the climatic sequence, a fact that not many knew when the movie was released.

The background score by Mahesh is nuanced and restrained, sublimely accentuating the suspense. This, incidentally, was the first Indian film to use the Dolby stereo surround system, albeit at a time when not many theatres were equipped to showcase the new technology. 

Editor N P Satish, who has notched up quite a reputation in the Malayalam film industry, and has collaborated with Kamal on Chachi 420 (1997) and Devar Magan (1992), edited this movie in a crisp lean-and-mean fashion that stands out even after 25 years.  

A lasting impact

Kuruthipunal was an outlier in Tamil cinema when it was made and the muted response to it meant that other filmmakers at the time were not driven to emulate its style. Thus, for a long time, the usual over-the-top action and song-and-dance extravaganzas prevailed. Even many of Kamal’s ‘classics’ from back then adopted these box-office-friendly ingredients.

However, later, critically acclaimed filmmakers such as Gautham Vasudev Menon and AR Murugadoss have mentioned the movie as an important influence in their own crime capers. 

Tamil audiences have also matured over the years and Kuruthipunal has gained acceptance as a mainstream classic. Even today, certain lines and catchphrases from the movie have attained popularity, notably, “Thairiyamna enna theriyuma, payam illatha mathiri nadikkarathuthan (Do you know what bravery is? It is to act as if you know no fear)” and Adi’s exhortation to “delay, disable and disintegrate” the enemy. 

Director P C Sreeram once described the experience of shooting Kuruthipunal as “most satisfying”. I’m convinced that most audiences today would say the same about the viewing experience as well.