Aparichit

Ramanujam Iyengar, also known as Ambi, is an orthodox Brahmin and a straightforward consumer protection advocate living in Chennai. He expects everyone to follow the law and prosecutes those who violate it. However, his efforts fail as circumstantial evidence always seems to favour the accused. He also fails to raise civic awareness due to pervasive corruption and a general lack of seriousness. Frustrated at his inability to bring about a change in society, his suppressed anger manifests itself in an alter-ego named Anniyan, a grim reaper-themed serial killer who punishes corrupt and indifferent people.

Anniyan creates a website, compiles a list of wrongdoers from his site, and kills them using punishments described in the Garuda Purana, one of the ancient Hindu scriptures.Ambi is secretly in love with his neighbour Nandini, an aspiring carnatic singer, but never expresses his love due to his fear of rejection. When he proposes to her during the annual Tyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru, she rejects him as she cannot bear his strict adherence to rules. Distraught, Ambi attempts suicide, almost drowning himself before having second thoughts. Subsequently, he develops another personality named Remo, a fashion model.

Nandini is smitten by Remo and falls in love with him.While purchasing a plot of land for her dowry, as her parents are expecting her to get married, Nandini decides to undervalue the property to evade stamp duty. Ambi, who accompanied her as she registered the property, refuses to help her. Later, when Nandini and Remo are on a date, Remo transforms into Anniyan and attempts to punish her for being corrupt. As he is about to kill her, Nandini calls out for Ambi.

Anniyan then reverts to Ambi, who collapses and loses consciousness. Nandini takes Ambi to NIMHANS where he is diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. Through recovered-memory therapy, the chief psychiatrist of the hospital uncovers Ambis past. It is revealed that, when Ambi was fourteen years old, he witnessed the tragic death of his younger sister Vidya due to civic apathy. The incident left a deep emotional scar, which is the reason for his lofty ideals.

It is also discovered that while Anniyan and Remo are aware of Ambi as a separate person, Ambi is oblivious to their existence within him. The psychiatrist declares that Remo will cease to exist if Nandini accepts Ambis love, and that Anniyan will cease to exist only when the society reforms. Nandini accepts Ambis love, and Remo disappears.Meanwhile, DCP Prabhakar and Sub-inspector Chari, who is Ambis friend, investigate the murders committed by Anniyan. Assuming disguises, they discover clues left behind by Anniyan, which are the names of the punishments he meted out to his victims.

Prabhakar is determined to bring Anniyan to justice as one of Anniyans victims, Chockalingam, an errant catering contractor with the Indian Railways, was his elder brother. In a dramatic publicity stunt, Anniyan admits to the murders he committed when he appears amidst the public and the press at the Nehru Stadium. He explains the rationale behind them and says that only when every Indian is responsible and sincere will the country prosper on a par with developed nations. His methods draw both praise and criticism. Prabhakar tries to catch Anniyan, but he escapes.

On investigating the recorded footage, Prabhakar discovers that Anniyan is Ambi and arrests him. Ambi is brutally interrogated and almost killed, triggering Anniyans reappearance. Ambis personality alternates between Ambi and Anniyan, resulting in ambiguity. He subdues Prabhakar as Anniyan, but begs for mercy as Ambi. Using CCTV, Chari secretly records the interrogation and uses it as evidence of Ambis condition during his trial.

Ambi is sentenced to psychotherapy in a mental hospital and will be eligible for release when cured.When Ambi is released, his rigid adherence to protocol has diminished. He marries Nandini, and, while travelling on a train during their honeymoon, he notices a man (an electrician who was originally responsible for his sisters death) drinking amidst fellow passengers. Suffering a relapse, he transforms into Anniyan and throws the man off the train, killing him. However, Ambi hides the incident from Nandini, indicating that he has successfully blended his personalities into one instead of eradicating them.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu said that the film works as it melds an interesting screen line with racy action. She also noted that the story resembled Shankars Indian a lot while also bearing semblance to his Gentleman . She remarked that the story and screenplay deserved to be lauded for its ingenious sparks in narration but problems arose with respect to its plausibility. She then declared, [.

] some of the best camera shots, stunts and locations on a mind-boggling scale have been showcased. If you enjoy magnificence in cinema you will like this Anniyan. Krishnakumar wrote for Rediff.com that learning from the debacle of Boys, the director went back to his strength by taking a social theme, spicing it up and serving the perfect commercial fare. He added that in trying to explain multiple personality disorder in the simplest of terms, the director has only succeeded to a certain extent as a majority of viewers who are not that well informed might not even comprehend what is being said.

Labelling the film as a must see, a reviewer at Sify acclaimed that the film holds the viewers riveted with its racy narration, a relevant message backed with technical wizardry, never-seen before colourful song picturisation and particularly the performance of Vikram. Yet, the reviewer criticised that the film was too lengthy and the story too thin on logic. The editorial board at IndiaGlitz called the film breathtaking and wrote, Anniyan in one word is brilliant. A film that is big in conception, immaculate in execution and totally stunning in its entirety. Anniyan is almost a surreal and phantasmagoric dream woven on an ambitiously expanded canvas that has never before seen on Indian films.

Its technical sorcery (yes, thats the word) just takes your breath away. Ramaa of Behindwoods summarised by saying that the film is a good entertainer and worth the money. Reviewing Aparichithudu, the Telugu version of the film, The Hindu said that it was watchable. Regarding the Hindi version of the film, Raja Sen of Rediff.com lambasted the pathetic dubbing though saying that it was refreshing and watchable, despite boasting of enough masala to make the viewers sneeze.

He concluded his review by saying, Overall, Aparichit is a slickly made, well-paced actioner that works quite well, despite the dub. The film is engaging and crisply scripted, and the action is never too excessive, lightened by jokes and general tomfoolery that never offensively interrupts the actual plot.