Indian’s re-release could not have happened at a better time given the 2024 Lok Sabha election results that have witnessed a dissemination of dictatorial power by the people.
While the story was inspired by the 1977 Sivaji Ganesan-starrer Naan Pirandha Mann, which featured Kamal Haasan as the errant son, Indian stood out due to its treatment and core.
Indian touched new peaks of box-office records that even a decade after the new millennium, the Shankar-Kamal Haasan combination was touted to be the most sought-after
The film was a big gamble for AM Ratnam who took leaps of faith to release the film with ample confidence in Kamal Haasan’s versatility and Shankar’s ability as a neophiliac.
The gamble paid off handsomely and Indian was, perhaps, that film that also broke the myth that a “commercially successful” film can’t win a National Award.
Indian fetched Kamal Haasan his third National Award in 1997. And the visual of him going to receive it in a silk dhoti and shirt, wearing one of his best smiles, is well remembered.
As we wait for the 2.O version of Senapathy (in Indian 2), let’s first put our hands together on the age-defying superhero who rocked the 1996 box office!