''Anbe Sivam'' () is a 2003 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language
slice-of-life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to Naturalism (theatre), naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by
Sundar C
Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
and produced by
Lakshmi Movie Makers. The film was written by
Kamal Haasan
Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...
, and
Madhan provided the dialogues. ''Anbe Sivam'' stars Haasan,
Madhavan and
Kiran Rathod, with
Nassar,
Santhana Bharathi
Santhana Bharathi is an Indian film director and actor who has primarily worked in Tamil cinema. He directed '' Gunaa'' (1991), which won third prize for the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film. He also directed '' Mahanadhi'' (1994), ...
,
Seema and
Uma Riyaz Khan playing supporting characters. It tells the story of Nallasivam and Anbarasu, two men of contrasting personalities who undertake an unexpected journey from
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...
to
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
.
Produced on a budget of
120 million, ''Anbe Sivam'' takes on themes such as
communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
,
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
, and
altruism
Altruism is the concern for the well-being of others, independently of personal benefit or reciprocity.
The word ''altruism'' was popularised (and possibly coined) by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as , for an antonym of egoi ...
and depicts Haasan's
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
views. The music was composed by
Vidyasagar.
Arthur A. Wilson served as the cinematographer and
M. Prabhaharan served as the art director.
The film was released on 15 January 2003 to positive reviews from critics but
underperformed at the box office. Despite its initial failure, it has gained recognition over the years through re-runs on television channels and is now regarded as a classic of
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...
and a
cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
. ''Anbe Sivam'' was screened as part of the Indian Panorama section of the
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...
in 2003. At the
51st Filmfare Awards South, it received a
Special Jury Award and nominations in the
Best Film and
Best Actor (Haasan) categories. Madhavan was awarded
Best Actor at the 2003
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Cinema of Tamil Nadu, Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Governmen ...
.
Plot
Two men waiting at the
Biju Patnaik Airport (in
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
, for a flight to
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
) engage in conversation. One is a
commercial director, Anbarasu, who prefers the abbreviated name A.Aras, and the other is a scarred and deformed socialist, Nallasivam, going by Mr. Sivam. When the flight is cancelled due to heavy rain, Aras initially suspects Sivam to be a terrorist and informs the authorities, only to discover that he was mistaken. With the rain flooding the city, the two men are forced to share a room for the night. Both need to return to Chennai: Aras to be present at his wedding, and Sivam has to deliver a 32,00,000 cheque, recently awarded to him after he won a court case, to a group of union workers.
After a traumatic night, and no hope for a flight, the two men take a bus to board the
Coromandel Express train. Aras's bag gets stolen on the way, leaving him with only his credit card, which no one accepts. Using his presence of mind, Sivam repeatedly bails Aras out of trouble while Aras tries to escape from him at every juncture, only to end up with him again. While waiting for the train at the
Ichchapuram railway station (in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
), Sivam begins to tell Aras his story.
A few years earlier, a healthy Nallasivam, going by Nalla, took part in various
street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or universi ...
performances protesting against
multinational corporation-driven industrialisation, which resulted in the marginalisation of the
labour force
In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed):
\text = \text + \text
Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
. He was at odds with Kandasamy Padayatchi, a manipulative factory owner who refused to give his workers a raise. Nalla satirically imitated Padayatchi in many of his shows. In an unexpected turn of events, Nalla and Balasaraswathi (Bala), Padayatchi's daughter, fell in love with each other. To avoid a potential conflict with Padayatchi, the two decided to elope to
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
.
Nalla boarded a bus bound for Kerala, and on his way to meet Bala, the bus met with an accident on a hillside, leaving him scarred, disfigured, and partially paralysed for life. After recovering from his wounds, he visited Bala, only to be informed by Padayatchi that his daughter was already married and pregnant with her first child, and had settled abroad. Padayatchi had earlier lied to Bala that Nalla died in the accident. It was also at this time that Nalla became a firm believer in kindness and love after experiencing patience and compassion from the nurses at the hospital. Despite suffering from an inferiority complex due to his scarred and deformed body, Nalla performs community service and social work with renewed fervour while continuing to fight for union causes.
Upon their arrival in Chennai, Aras delivers Sivam's cheque to the union workers. He invites Sivam to his wedding, letting him know how much he means to him, to utter astonishment, Sivam sees that Aras's bride is Bala. Padayatchi spots Sivam and asks him why he is at the wedding. He tells Padayatchi that he was invited by Aras, and later persuades him to sign the papers which will help Padayatchi's workers get a raise. To prevent the disruption of Bala's wedding and avoid damaging his own reputation, Padayatchi yields to Sivam's demands. After signing the papers, Padayatchi instructs his assistant to eliminate Sivam. However, his assistant has a change of heart as he is about to kill him, letting Sivam know that he believed that the misdeeds he committed for Padayatchi resulted in the death of his own daughter. Padayatchi's assistant requests Sivam to stay as far away from his boss as possible. Sivam assents and walks away.
Cast
Production
Development
In the late 1990s, Kamal Haasan narrated the premise of a film to the director
K. S. Ravikumar as they sought to collaborate following ''
Avvai Shanmugi'' (1996). The initial script followed two men who meet in a train, quarrel, become friends and ultimately, one of them sacrifices everything for the other man. One individual was a
Sri Lankan Tamil
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...
communist, while the other was a person who followed a right-wing political belief. Haasan had wanted to act in the film alongside
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...
, but Ravikumar refused the opportunity, saying it was not his usual film genre of expertise. Haasan and Ravikumar instead moved on to work on a different project titled ''
Thenali'' (2000) and chose to make the film's title character a Sri Lankan Tamil as discussed in the earlier script.
After completing the draft for the film's script with alterations in early 2002, Haasan approached the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
filmmaker
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan Soman Nair (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has worked primarily in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, Hindi cinema since 1982, directing over 90 films in multiple Indian languages, ...
to direct it. The two men were keen to work together since the late 1990s, and upon reading the script, Priyadarshan believed that it had the potential to be an "emotional love story".
The film's title ''Anbe Sivam'' was derived from the
Shaivite
Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the supreme being. It is the second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in ...
saint
Tirumular
Tirumular, also known as Suntaranāthar, was a Tamil people, Tamil Shaivite mystic and writer, considered one of the sixty-three poet-saints called the Nayanars, and is listed among a group of 18 sages called the Siddhars. His magnum opus, the ...
's poem ''
Tirumantiram
The ''Tirumantiram'' () or ''Thirumantiram'' is a Tamil poetic work, written either in the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE by Tirumular. It is the tenth of the twelve volumes of the ''Tirumurai'', the key texts of Shaiva Siddhanta and the fi ...
''.
In June 2002, Priyadarshan opted out of the project owing to creative differences.
Sundar C
Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...
came in as a replacement to work on the film. ''Anbe Sivam'' was co-produced and distributed by V. Swaminathan, K.Muralitharan and G.Venugopal under the production banner of
Lakshmi Movie Makers.
Cast and crew
In addition to being the film's writer, Haasan also played the central character, Nallasivam. Madhavan was selected to play Anbarasu in January 2002. According to Kiran Rathod, she received a phone call from Haasan's office informing her that she was offered the role of Balasaraswathi, which she accepted. Rathod's voice in the film was dubbed by the singer
Anuradha Sriram
Anuradha Sriram (' Mohan; born 9 July 1970) is an Indian carnatic and playback singer and child actress who hails from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung more than 3500 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Sinhala, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali ...
. Uma Riyaz Khan played the role of Nallasivam's friend and professional colleague, Mehrunissa. In a 2019 interview with ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'', the film's script assistant and costume designer, Sujatha Narayanan, revealed that
Nandita Das
Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...
and
Shobana were the original choices for Balasaraswathi and Mehrunissa respectively and that both of them declined due to schedule conflicts.
The actors Nassar and Santhana Bharathi played the roles of Kandasamy Padaiyatchi and his assistant, respectively, while cartoonist Madhan featured in a cameo appearance as himself in addition to writing the film's dialogues.
Screenwriter
Crazy Mohan also collaborated with Haasan on writing some dialogues for the film. In an interview with S.R. Ashok Kumar of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' in 2006, Bharathi considered both ''Anbe Sivam'' and ''
Michael Madana Kama Rajan'' (1990) to be the favourite roles of his career.
Arthur A. Wilson,
M. Prabhaharan and
P. Sai Suresh handled the film's cinematography, art direction and editing, respectively.
Brinda,
Chinni Prakash and
Dinesh Kumar were in charge of the choreography while the stunt sequences were co-ordinated by
Vikram Dharma.
Muthulakshmi Varadhan, Bharathi's sister-in-law, worked as an assistant editor in the film. The make-up for Haasan's scars was designed by
Michael Westmore and Anil Pemgirkar.
In May 2002, Haasan completed the makeup for his character Nallasivam in Los Angeles after filming the song sequences for ''
Panchatanthiram'' (2002).
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
for ''Anbe Sivam'' commenced in July 2002. The first scene featuring the lead actors was shot at
Pollachi Junction railway station. Haasan and Madhavan interacted closely during the initial stages of the shoot to ensure that the on-screen chemistry between the pair was apparent.
''Anbe Sivam'' was shot on a restricted budget of 120 million, with the train and bus disaster sequences involving the use of settings and
CGI.
Madhavan, who began shooting his portions in September 2002, stated the film was shot in relatively empty locations.
The flood scenes set in
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
were re-created with outdoor sets consisting of city roads submerged under water erected in the Odisha-
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
border. Filming also took place in Chennai,
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
and on the
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
-
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
border. For a brief sequence in the "Naatukkoru Seithi" song, Haasan learnt how to play the
thavil
A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in other South Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana) as well as in the North and East of ...
, a barrel-shaped percussion instrument, over three weeks. The pre-climax scenes were filmed in what was then known as the
Campa Cola compound in Guindy. The climax scenes were filmed in a single take.
Themes and influences
''Anbe Sivam'' follows the events of a journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai undertaken by two men of contrasting personalities: Nallasivam, a physically challenged and witty socialist, and Anbarasu, a commercial director who supports
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
and
globalisation
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the two are forced to undertake the journey together.
Throughout the narrative, a series of themes pertaining to
communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
, compassion, globalisation,
atheism
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
, and
altruism
Altruism is the concern for the well-being of others, independently of personal benefit or reciprocity.
The word ''altruism'' was popularised (and possibly coined) by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as , for an antonym of egoi ...
are addressed; the film also showcases Haasan's views as a
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
.
According to Haasan, the characterisation of Nallasivam was inspired by the life of Communist playwright, actor, director, lyricist and theorist
Safdar Hashmi, who was chiefly associated with his work on
street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or universi ...
in India. Hashmi died on 2 January 1989 after being attacked by members of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
while staging a play, ''Halla Bol''. S.Anand of ''
Outlook'' magazine notes that Haasan's views on humanism in the film also seemed to be inspired by those of
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
.
M. Kalyanaraman and Abdullah Nurullah of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' opined that Nallasivam shared similar characteristics with street theatre artist Pralayan. According to Kalyanaraman, ''Anbe Sivam'' proposes that man can make morally superior choices when he comes face to face with death. As a result, Haasan indicates that the belief of "
Siva is love" is the "final stage of evolution of man into God".

The film critic
Baradwaj Rangan, in his review of another Haasan film, ''
Vishwaroopam'' (2013), found the ethnicity of the characters in the film to be a continuation of Haasan's inclusion of non-Tamil characters in his films. Rangan considered this to be Haasan's acknowledgement of the "interconnectedness of the nation" and "the world beyond India". He noted in his article that Haasan had experimented with the concept before by including the usage of
Bengali language
Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. ...
and meeting
Bengalis
Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...
in ''
Mahanadhi'' (1994), a
Telugu-speaking love interest in ''
Nammavar'' (1994), marrying a Bengali woman in ''
Hey Ram'' (2000), conducting investigations with an American associate in ''
Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu'' (2006), and marriage to a
Frenchwoman
French people () are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.
The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from nor ...
in ''
Manmadan Ambu'' (2010). Rangan notes that in ''Anbe Sivam'', the inclusion of and interaction with the
Odia people
The Odia (), formerly spelled Oriya, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak the Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant min ...
was another example of including non-Tamil characters in his films.
Rangan also compared Haasan's fight sequence with the use of an umbrella to the way he used a book and stool in ''
Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey'' (1983).
The basic plot of ''Anbe Sivam'' was reported to have similarities with the 1987
road film, ''
Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' directed by
John Hughes, which starred
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...
and
John Candy
John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...
. The critics noted Haasan and Madhavan's character share similar traits to that of the roles played by Candy and Martin in that film, respectively.
The portrait painted by Nallasivam on the walls of Padayatchi's house is inspired by the Mexican painter
Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art.
Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...
's
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
, ''
Man at the Crossroads
''Man at the Crossroads'' (1933) was a fresco by Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Originally slated to be installed in the lobby of the 30 Rockefeller Plaza, RCA Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the fresco showed aspects of contempo ...
''.
Srinivasa Ramanujam, writing for ''The Times of India'' in 2008, noted that the religious undertone in the film was similar to that of
Rajinikanth
Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...
's ''
Baba'' (2002).
Music
The soundtrack album and background score for ''Anbe Sivam'' were composed by
Vidyasagar and the lyrics for the songs were written by
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he firs ...
and
P. Vijay.
After composing the tune for the title song, Vidyasagar explained the situation of the song to Haasan, who wanted the song to be performed in such a way that the protagonist is singing according to the situation he finds himself in. Vidyasagar suggested that Haasan should sing the song himself to achieve the desired result, which the latter accepted.
The song "Mouname Paarvayai" was not included in the film.
The song "Poovaasam" is based on the ''Shuddh Sarang''
raga
A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...
. The male portions for the reprise of "Poovaasam" were sung by
Sriram Parthasarathy, while the original version was sung by
Vijay Prakash.
Sadhana Sargam
Sadhana Sargam (née Ghanekar, born 7 March 1969) is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Marathi language, Marathi, Bengali language, Bengali, Nepali, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, ...
sang her portion of both versions of the song.
Malathi Rangarajan of ''The Hindu'' wrote, "Vidyasagar is scaling great heights as a composer. The theme song and the melodious are pointers. Vairamuthu's lyrics deserve special mention here."
Singer
Charulatha Mani, in her column for ''The Hindu'', "A Raga's Journey", noted, "Poovaasam" possessed "a charm that is born out of classicism incorporated in a populist piece".
Arkay of
Rediff.com found the songs to be "at best, okay".
M. Suganth of ''The Times of India'', in his review for the music album, "Lovers Special – Vol. 2–4", included "Poovaasam" among the "Hot Picks" of the album.
Release
According to S. R. Ashok Kumar of ''The Hindu'', the producers were confident that ''Anbe Sivam'' would be a strong competitor at the
50th National Film Awards that they had the film reviewed by the
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...
before the end of 2002 so that they could enter the film into the annual awards list.
The film was released on 15 January 2003, which coincided with the
Pongal festival. It opened alongside five other films, including
Vikram's ''
Dhool'',
Vijayakanth
Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...
's ''
Chokka Thangam'', and ''
Vaseegara'', which featured
Vijay.
''Anbe Sivam'' was screened as a part of the Indian Panorama section of the
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...
in 2003.
As a tribute to Safdar Hashmi, a special preview of the film was organised by Haasan in association with Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) on 9 January 2003 at
Siri Fort Auditorium. The film was dubbed into Telugu as ''Sathyame Sivam'' and released on 28 February 2003.
It was dubbed into Hindi as ''Shivam'' and was released two years later in 2005. After the release of the original Tamil version, the dubbing rights for the Hindi version were sold at a low price, much to the irritation of the lead actors as they were not able to dub for themselves in Hindi.
Reception
Critical response
Baradwaj Rangan described the film as "Kamal's latest solo attempt to bend, twist, shape-shift
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Ch ...
into forms never-before seen."
In his review of the film's DVD, M. Suganth, writing for ''The Times of India'', called it "one of the finest movies of the decade" and praised the story, screenplay and dialogues before terming the film as "a modern classic". Reviewing the Telugu dubbed version, ''Sathyame Sivam'', Jeevi of
Idlebrain.com said that "this art-kind-of film does entertain the people who love Kamal Hassan flicks" while concluding that it "would remain as one of the good films made in the recent times".
Malathi Rangarajan of ''The Hindu'' believed that "well-defined characters, a strong storyline and intelligent screenplay" were the film's "vital ingredients". She further complimented Haasan's treatment of the story, and that his "diligence that has gone into the chiselling of the story and screenplay is only too evident" while calling the film "a laudable effort".
P.Devarajan of ''
Business Line
''Business Line'', known as ''The Hindu Business Line'', is an Indian business newspaper published by Kasturi & Sons, the publishers of the newspaper ''The Hindu'' headquartered in Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed ...
'' appreciated Haasan's performance and facial expressions and concluded his review by stating, "This man has intrigued me and will always." Another critic from ''The Hindu'', Gudipoodi Srihari, appreciated the pair of Haasan and Madhavan, noting that the duo "make a fine combination of pals each with different mental make up, but goodness overflowing." Sujatha Narayanan, in a retrospective review for ''
The New Indian Express
''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naidu ...
'' commended Haasan's writing and Madhan's dialogue, finding them to be "peppered with sharp wit, trivia and emotional depth."
Malini Mannath of ''Chennai Online'' wrote "Sensitive and touching, light-hearted and , it's a film to be watched". Anu of ''
Kalki
Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...
'' praised the acting of Kamal Haasan and Madhavan, cinematography and dialogues but felt lengthy dialogues about god will bore audience and also found street drama too lengthy and concluded calling the film as eno salt for indigestion after watching films on police-goon and teenage love. Jayalakshmi K. of ''
Deccan Herald
''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by businessman K. N. Guruswamy and launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printers Mysore, a privately hel ...
'' wrote "Love is God, the title says, and that is what this film is all about. This truth is told effortlessly in a simple story spun by the superstar himself. The film, directed by Sunder C, is a moving story that unfolds during a troubled journey that throws together two diametrically opposite personalities in circumstances that bring them close to each other and to the realities of life".
A reviewer from
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
, in comparison, labelled the film as "average", stating that it was "another predictable and corny film which is neither a comedy caper nor a class act."
Similarly, Arkay of Rediff.com praised the performances of the lead cast but wrote the film "tries to do too many things, and ends up failing at most, if not all, of them."
S.Anand of ''Outlook'' felt the film's thematic ideas of communism were presented in a "clichéd" manner, and summarised by saying, "If Rajnikant staked claim to divinity on a right-wing plank with ''Baba'', Kamal does it with pretensions to rationalist-left rhetoric."
Box office
During the first week of its theatrical run, an analysis by
Sudhish Kamath of ''The Hindu'' showed the film to have grossed 13.1 million in Chennai alone. Despite this, the film
underperformed at the box office and incurred heavy losses for Lakshmi Movie Makers, effectively stopping them from investing in other ventures for the year 2003. An estimate by D.Govardan of ''
The Economic Times
''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...
'' places the losses at 65 million, while Arun Ram of ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'' states the losses incurred to be 50 million.
Srinivasa Ramanujam of ''The Times of India'' compared the film's failure at the box office to that of ''Baba''.
Both K. Muralitharan and Haasan defended the film's failure by blaming
video piracy, with the latter stating that "lots of people saw it, but they didn't pay".
Accolades
Legacy
Following its release, ''Anbe Sivam'' has attained
cult status in Tamil cinema and receives re-runs on television channels.
When the film was in post-production, Haasan revealed to film critic and journalist
Subhash K. Jha that he was impressed with Madhavan's enthusiasm and performance during the making of the film, subsequently signing him to appear as the protagonist in his production venture, ''
Nala Damayanthi'' (2003).
Baradwaj Rangan wrote that ''Anbe Sivam'' was "leagues ahead of the average Tamilwhy, even Indianfilm", though he felt that "the masses were unwilling to accept the experimental nature of the film", while talking about the film's box office failure.
During his acceptance speech after winning the
Vijay Award for Best Director in 2010 for ''
Naan Kadavul'' (2009), director
Bala revealed that a scene in ''Anbe Sivam'' where Haasan says to Madhavan, "when we love others unconditionally without any expectation, we become Gods", inspired him to make his film. Bala also made a reference to ''Anbe Sivam'' in his 2003 film, ''
Pithamagan
''Pithamagan'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action film, action crime drama film written and directed by Bala (director), Bala. The film stars Vikram (actor), Vikram, Suriya, Laila (actress), Laila and Sangeetha Krish, San ...
'', in a scene where
Suriya's character goes for a screening of the film with his friends. A dialogue told by Haasan to Madhavan, "Do you know what a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
is? ''Periya alai illa... malai''." (It's not just a big wave... it's a mountain) also attained popularity.
In 2008, S.R. Ashok Kumar of ''The Hindu'' listed ''Anbe Sivam'' among the "top five directorial ventures of SundarC." In a 2008 interview with ''The Times of India'', SundarC. stated that ''Anbe Sivam'' "changed
impersonally and professionally", making him a more confident person and altering his outlook towards life. He later contradicted his statement after revealing that the film's failure led him to become almost bankrupt and he remained unpaid for his work. The
Income Tax Department froze his bank accounts for a year as he was not able to pay his taxes. He admitted that while he received praises for the film after its theatrical run, he would not make a film similar to ''Anbe Sivam'' any more and that he chose to continue making commercial cinema, which he felt better matched his interests. In 2013, Haricharan Pudipeddi of the
Indo-Asian News Service
Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. In December 2023, Adani group, known for its close ties with t ...
agency, included ''Anbe Sivam'' in his list of "Kamal's most underrated films". He believed the reason for the film's commercial failure was that audiences misunderstood the "sarcastic undertones associated with atheism". On Haasan's birthday, 7 November 2015, Latha Srinivasan of ''
Daily News and Analysis
The ''Daily News and Analysis'', abbreviated as ''DNA'', is a Hindi-language news program on Zee news that was earlier an English-language newspaper with multiple local city editions across India. ''DNA'' was first launched as a broadsheet newsp ...
'' considered ''Anbe Sivam'' to be one of the "films you must watch to grasp the breadth of Kamal Haasan's repertoire". The character of Nallasivam was ranked fourth in ''The Times of Indias list of "Kamal Haasan's top 10 mind-blowing avatars".
In ''
Vasool Raja MBBS'' (2004), the character Vasool Raja (Haasan), while attending a class asks whether being a doctor is equivalent to being God, and in doing so says "Anbe Venkatachalam", to which one of his classmates gently asks him, "isn't it Anbe Sivam?". Haasan retorts: "Let it be. Let's try something different for a change." The street theatre sequence featuring Nallasivam and his friends performing to make people aware of the atrocities committed by Kandasamy Padayatchi was re-created at
Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...
in 2008 by Pralayan and his troupe from "Chennai Kalai Kuzhu" under the title ''Nammal Mudiyum''. In contrast, Pralayan's play explored gender inequality and domestic violence instead of unemployment. Kannada actor
Vishnuvardhan noted in 2010 that fellow actor
Sudeep
Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Kichcha Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, singer and television presenter, who primarily works in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Te ...
's film ''
Just Maath Maathalli'' (2010) bears resemblance to ''Anbe Sivam''. Hari Narayan, writing for ''The Hindu'' in 2014, mentions in his article on the Indian
rationalist and author
Narendra Dabholkar
Narendra Achyut Dabholkar (1 November 1945 – 20 August 2013) was an Indian physician, social activist, rationalist and author from Maharashtra, India. In 1989 he founded and became president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti ...
that
Umesh Shukla's ''
OMG – Oh My God!'' (2012) was "a toned down version of ''Anbe Sivam'' where rationality propels humans to find God in themselves, with flaws, which extols the virtue of becoming as much as that of being". In 2015 Uthiran of ''
Hindu Tamil Thisai
''Hindu Tamil Thisai'' (colloquially known as ''The Hindu Tamil'') is a Tamil daily newspaper headquartered at Chennai. It is published by The Hindu Group
The Hindu Group is an Indian publishing company based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Its fi ...
'' in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
, mentions in his review of ''
Orange Mittai'' (2015) that the film's plot might remind viewers of ''Anbe Sivam''. In 2017, Ashok, who directed the comedy film ''
Peechankai'', mentioned he was inspired by ''Anbe Sivam'' to become a director.
Film
*
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2000s avant-garde and experimental films
2000s Indian films
2000s road movies
2000s Tamil-language films
2003 drama films
2003 films
Films directed by Sundar C
Films scored by Vidyasagar (composer)
Films set in Andhra Pradesh
Films set in Odisha
Films with screenplays by Kamal Haasan
Indian avant-garde and experimental films
Indian drama films
Indian nonlinear narrative films
Indian road movies
Slice of life films
Tamil-language drama films
Tamil-language Indian films