''Ramanaa'' is a 2002 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

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

written and directed by

A. R. Murugadoss Murugadas Arunachalam (born 25 September 1974), known professionally as AR Murugadoss, () is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known for directing action films ...

, stars

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 ...

Simran Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ, pronunciation: ; ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Hindi and Punjabi word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of the self, ...

(in a cameo appearance) and

Ashima Bhalla Ashima Bhalla is an Indian actress who has appeared in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, Kannada language films. She also appeared on television, portraying the lead role in the Indian soap '' Meri Awaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni'' on StarPlus. She also partic ...

in lead roles. The film is about a man named Ramana who decides to abolish corruption completely with the help of his ex-students who are working in various government offices. The film released on 4 November 2002. It received positive reviews from critics and became a superhit. It was awarded the 2002

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film is given by the Government of Tamil Nadu as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil ( Kollywood) films. It includes prizes for three top places. Key List of winners Referenc ...

and

won the

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they w ...

. The film was dubbed and released in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

as ''Mar Mitenge 3'' in 2015.

Plot

''Ramanaa'' begins with the abduction of 15 tahsildars across various parts of

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 ...

. After three days in captivity, 14 officers are released, but one's body is found in

Trichy 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 ...

. The police find a tape recording and a file on the dead officer's body that provide significant evidence concerning the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

and subsequent murder. The files suggest that the crimes were committed by members of the self-proclaimed "Anti-

Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

Force" (ACF), a citizen militia seeking to eliminate corruption through vigilante acts. The group proclaims that they will kidnap top 15 corrupt officials in each department, keep them in captivity for a week and kill the most corrupt one. The film's setting then shifts to Dr M. Ramanaa, a mild-mannered professor at

National College National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

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 ...

, who lives in a house with four adopted kids. While treating his adopted child at a big private hospital, Ramanaa discovers that the officials at the facility are engaging in

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

and

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

. After sending his kids home, he goes to the Govt hospital, brings a recently dead poor man's body to the private hospital and tricks them into treating a dead man. The hospital staff fall for the trick and try to extort a heavy sum using the body. Ramanaa pays all the fees and collects all the documents. When the doctors inform him that the patient is dead, he reveals the trick. Rishi, who is the hospital's heir bargains with him, but eventually pays Ramanaa two millions rupees. Ramanaa takes the money he paid the hospital and gives the remaining huge sum to the poor man's family. He also sends copies of the reports to the incoming

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( ; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Kala ...

. Due to government pressure the hospital and college are closed off. Rishi commits suicide when he is about to be arrested. His grief-stricken father, a big and powerful construction magnate named Bhadrinarayanan, returns from

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and vows to take revenge on the man responsible for his son's death. Meanwhile, the ACF goes on kidnapping the top 15 corrupt officials each month for 4 months and then killing the #1. Those officials include officials from

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

PWD pwd (print working directory) is a shell command that reports the working directory path to standard output. Although often associated with Unix, its predecessor Multics had a pwd command (which was a short name of the print_wdir command) from ...

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

, sports,

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

, etc. Then, suddenly, Devaki, a college girl and friend of Ramana's kids, finds out about him being the leader of the ACF. She questions him about this immoral activity. Seven years ago, Ramana was a college professor with a small cute family, of him, his nine-month pregnant wife Chithra, and his daughter. During the festival of

Deepavali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual ...

, Ramanaa's apartment

building collapse A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...

s due to heavy construction work nearby, killing many residents including Chitra and his daughter. Recovering from the incident, he demands to know who was responsible for the building's collapse. He discovers that the building was built and owned by Bhadrinarayanan, who knowingly constructed the complex on loose soil. When Ramanaa confronts the District Council with evidence, Bhadrinarayanan walks in and boasts about all the bribes he has thrown to the top district officials including the collector. He gives Ramanaa a chance to call any two top officials in the state and get him arrested, but both the officials who are called immediately hang up. Frustrated, Ramanaa seals the room and attacks all officers, and as he is about to kill Bhadrinarayanan, he is beaten badly by his men, and is thrown on a highway. He is then rescued by National college students, who were on a trip. In response to Bhadrinarayanan's actions, and the general corruption in the region, Ramanaa forms the Anti-Corruption Force (ACF). Meanwhile, a local police constable, frustrated for being not promoted, as he could not bribe officials, begins secretly building the case against the ACF. The constable eventually realizes that the ACF is primarily composed of people who do not take bribes. He visits multiple revenue offices, but his superiors neglect him due to him being their low associate. Then, a message comes saying that civil supply officers are going to be taken. All corrupt officials try to get police protection by proving their corruption, but at the last moment, the ACF switches to the Police department. All corrupt civil supply officers are immediately arrested, and the government promises to employ 25,000 youngsters within a week. 15 district police

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

are kidnapped. The police officer is killed, and everyone is frustrated. A Punjabi IPS officer is flown from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

to head the case. Meanwhile, Bhadrinarayanan is trying to re-corrupt the officials he comes into contact. As the final stroke, the top 15 dons are kidnapped. Ramanaa personally comes to Bhadrinarayanan. As was done to him, he gives the same lifeline to Bhadri, to call any two people within India. This time, Bhadrinarayanan fails and is kidnapped and later killed. Then, the constable reveals his plan to his superiors, and the IPS officer is delighted. The officer takes swift action against them. The ACF members are captured and tortured by the police but refuse to reveal Ramanaa's identity. Ramanaa is overcome with guilt over his students' sacrifice and surrenders himself, on the condition that all the other members of the ACF be released. He is tried and

convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

of being the mastermind organizer behind the murders of Bhadrinarayanan and 5 other government officials. He does not reject the accusations and is swiftly

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. He accepts the sentence and refuses to appeal to higher courts. Public pressure from the sympathetic community and family makes the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu to visit Ramanaa in prison, and he offers Ramanaa a pardon. However, Ramanaa refuses, stating that only he must face the final consequences of his actions. He asks for a covert visit to his meet his children. He meets them when they are asleep and bids them a teary adieu. Students pour into the city and tensions build up. The government asks Ramanaa to give a speech to control the people. The next day Ramanaa appeals to the public and asks them to avoid corruption at all costs. Minutes later he is

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

. The constable is offered a promotion for his role in disbanding the ACF, but he refuses out of guilt.

Cast

Production

The film was initially titled as ''Valluvan''.

Yugi Sethu Yugi Sethu is an Indian actor, filmmaker, writer, and television presenter who has worked in the Tamil film industry. He has been conferred doctorate (PhD) in cinema by the Madras University in July 2015, for his Thesis entitled: 'Development o ...

replaced R. Madhavan in the role of a constable in the film.

initially wanted

Natty Subramaniam Natarajan "Natty" Subramaniam ( born 23 June 1971) is an Indian cinematographer and actor who has worked in blockbuster and highly acclaimed Hindi and Tamil films. As an actor, he achieved recognition through his performance as a con artist in ...

to work as the film's cinematographer but then he was about to work on '' Black Friday'' (2004).

Soundtrack

The ''Ramanaa'' soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, and is the only collaboration by Murugadoss and

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...

. The soundtrack has 8 songs.

Release

Critical response

Malathi Rangarajan of ''The Hindu'' opined that "The concept is Utopian and the sequences almost implausible, but A. R. Murugadas sends a ray of hope for society's honest lot, through his 'Ramana'". A critic from ''Sify'' wrote that "Vijaykanth's ''Ramanaa'' is an engrossing crime drama which overflows with sharp dialogues against the corrupt system and is shot stylishly by director A.R. Murugadoss". Malini Mannath of ''Chennai Online'' said that "'Ramana' is a watch 'able' film despite its flaws". ''Cinesouth'' wrote "When the younger actors are busy taking a walk in the gardens of romance, the older heroes don't seem to tire of doing roles of the 'Gentleman', 'Indian' and 'Citizen' kind. Nobody knows why. 'Ramana' almost belongs to the same species too. Two things set this film apart from the rest- director Murugasdas' excellent screenplay and the very unusual climax. These are the factors that make this film acceptable".

Box office

The film was a critical and commercial success.

Legacy

It served as a trendsetter in later years. The film has a strong cult following till date.

was featured as Professor Ramanaa using AI in a special appearance in the film '' Padai Thalaivan'' (2025) featuring his son Shanmuga Pandian in the lead role.

Remakes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramana (Film) 2000s Indian films 2000s Tamil-language films 2000s vigilante films 2002 action films 2002 films Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films about assassinations Films about capital punishment Films about corruption in India Films about educators Films about kidnapping in India Films about medical students Films about murder Films about rebels Films about students Films about suicide Films directed by AR Murugadoss Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Films set in Chennai Films set in Delhi Films set in Mumbai Films set in Tamil Nadu Films set in Tiruchirappalli Films set in hospitals Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Chennai Films shot in Delhi Films shot in Tamil Nadu Films shot in Tiruchirappalli Films shot in Tirunelveli Indian action drama films Indian action films Indian action thriller films Indian crime action films Indian crime drama films Indian crime thriller films Indian disaster films Indian political action films Indian vigilante films Memorials to A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Tamil films remade in other languages Tamil-language Indian films Films set in prison Indian legal drama films Indian courtroom films