Kuruthipunal (film)
Kuruthipunal (transl. River of Blood) is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed and filmed by P. C. Sreeram, and co-produced and written by Kamal Haasan. The film, which stars Haasan, Arjun, Nassar, Gautami and Geetha, is a remake of the Hindi film Drohkaal (1994), and revolves around two police officers seeking to curb a terrorist group.
| Kuruthipunal | |
|---|---|
Poster of the Tamil version | |
| Directed by | P. C. Sreeram |
| Screenplay by | Kamal Haasan |
| Based on | Drohkaal by Govind Nihalani |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | P. C. Sreeram |
| Edited by | N. P. Sathish |
| Music by | Mahesh |
Production company | Raaj Kamal Films International |
Release dates |
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Running time | 141–156 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages |
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Alongside the Tamil version, a Telugu-language version titled Drohi (transl. Traitor) was filmed at the same time. Kuruthipunal was co-produced by Haasan's brother Chandrahasan. Mahesh composed the score and the film was edited by N. P. Sathish. Kuruthipunal was the first Indian film to use Dolby Stereo surround SR technology.
Kuruthipunal was released on 23 October 1995, Diwali day, and Drohi on 7 July 1996. The former was a critical and commercial success, and won the Cinema Express Award for Best Film – Tamil while Kamal Haasan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. It was India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards under the category Best Foreign Language Film but was not nominated. The film attained cult status in Tamil cinema, and has been recognised by many to have set standards for other action films of the period.