Kamal Haasan revives Sandiyar; Krishnasamy objects again

Kamal Haasan has brought back Sandiyar, and K Krishnasamy has brought back his objection. As Raaj Kamal Films International announced the start of shooting on the actor’s 72nd birthday, November 7, the Puthiya Tamizhagam leader called for the new film to be stopped. Twenty-three years after the dispute that turned Sandiyar into Virumaandi, the same title has put the two at odds again.

Speaking in Coimbatore on Saturday, Krishnasamy demanded that the film should not be made or screened in Tamil Nadu under that title. He objected to the blood-soaked promotional imagery and warned that the film could aggravate caste tensions in the state. Invoking Kamal’s positions as a political party leader and MP, he accused the actor of acting against the responsibilities of his parliamentary oath.

His criticism was personal as well as political. “Kamal may be a fine actor, but he is an irresponsible actor,” he said, urging filmmakers to join his objection: “The entire film industry should oppose the title Sandiyar.” The film is directed by SU Arun Kumar, and its full plot has not been revealed.

The original dispute began in 2003, when Kamal launched his own directorial venture as Sandiyar. The word is commonly used for a rowdy or troublemaker, and it became the centre of a political argument before audiences had seen the film. In Rediff’s reporting from May that year, Krishnasamy objected to what he saw as the glorification of violent caste pride. He linked his opposition to the history of clashes in southern Tamil Nadu and criticised the sickle used in the film’s imagery.

The dispute affected the shoot. A June 21, 2003 report in The Times of India recorded Kamal’s decision to change the name after meeting then chief minister J Jayalalithaa. He said he did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments. The project continued and became Virumaandi, with Kamal writing, directing and playing the title role.

That film’s story was itself concerned with violence and how it is explained. Its two accounts of the same events, told by the characters played by Kamal and Pasupathy to Rohini’s human-rights researcher, placed guilt and capital punishment at the centre of the drama. The new Sandiyar brings back the abandoned title, but RKFI has not announced a story connection or presented it as a Virumaandi sequel.

Krishnasamy is not the only person questioning the new campaign. Merku Thodarchi Malai director Lenin Bharathi had criticised the earlier promotional line, “Revenge can only be settled in blood”, questioning the social responsibility of selling a film through that message. His criticism preceded Friday’s title reveal and concerned the revenge tagline.

The November 7 birthday poster puts Kamal against a dark background, holding an open revolver as cartridges scatter around him. A narrow streak of light cuts across his face. RKFI’s accompanying line reads, “6 ROUNDS, ZERO MERCY”, followed by the deliberately unfinished “Revenge does give satisfaction, but…” The poster released the previous evening had him leaning through a vehicle’s open window, with blood streaking its door.

Kamal and R Mahendran are producing the film. Anirudh Ravichander is composing the music, continuing his association with Kamal after Vikram and Indian 2. Anbariv handle the action, Sunil KS the cinematography, CS Balachander the production design and Amritha Ram the costumes, as credited on the official artwork. The supporting cast and release date have not been announced.

For Arun Kumar, this is his sixth feature. His route to Kamal has run through three collaborations with Vijay Sethupathi, Pannaiyarum Padminiyum, Sethupathi and Sindhubaadh, followed by Siddharth’s Chithha and Vikram’s Veera Dheera Sooran Part 2. The latter followed a man whose attempt to leave a violent life behind collapsed over one night.

Arun Kumar’s birthday note to Kamal, shared by RKFI, offers a more personal account of how he arrived here. Writing in Tamil, he said Kamal’s influence had been present throughout his work, both consciously and unconsciously, and had enriched him as a filmmaker. He reached for the image of the mythic ocean of milk to describe the scale of the opportunity.

He credited Kamal with choosing him as director and bringing his story to life. For Arun Kumar, the pleasure is also in becoming a student again: “I am happy that, while directing my mentor, I will also be learning much more on this journey.”