'Ulaganayagan' Kamal Haasan's Aalavandhan (2001) has been re-released in theatres worldwide on more than 1000 screens and took a strong opening in theatres across Tamil Nadu on Friday, December 8. The psychological action thriller film directed by hit Tamil filmmaker Suresh Krissna under blockbuster producer-distributor Kalaippuli S. Thanu's V Creations banner and featuring music composed by the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio has since it was first released more than two decades ago earned a cult classic status among fans, with the feedback during its re-release yesterday proving to be a big testimony.
Aalavandhan has Kamal Haasan appearing in dual roles as Major Vijay Kumar and the mentally ill Nandha Kumar alias Nandhu, while Raveena Tandon and Manisha Koirala are cast as the female lead, with the re-released version undergoing a few changes, which have added to the film's advantage. Although the film was originally released at a duration of close to three hours in 2001, the remastered version has been trimmed during its re-release and has a runtime of just above two hours. Aalavandhan's re-release in theatres witnessed a large number of Kamal Haasan fans celebrate the Tamil superstar on the big screen once again while giving a double thumbs up to the latest version, with director Suresh Krissna and producer Kalaippuli S. Thanu also being showered with high praise for their efforts in bringing the film's remastered version to cinemas.
The re-release of Aalavandhan has come after Kamal Haasan's blockbuster Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006) returned to theatres earlier this year, which also garnered a huge response from fans. Shot simultaneously in Hindi under the title Abhay, the film continues to be celebrated to this day as being ahead of its time. Aalavandhan, which is incidentally an adaptation of Kamal Haasan's novel 'Dhayam' (1984), also won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects at the 49th National Film Awards in 2002.
