Apr 16, 2022
Aaranya Kaandam (transl. Jungle Chapter; English title: Anima and Persona) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by newcomer Thiagarajan Kumararaja. It is supposedly the first neo-noir film in Tamil cinema.[3][4]... The story takes place in a day in the lives of the six protagonists, played by Jackie Shroff,[5] Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj and newcomers Yasmin Ponnappa, Guru Somasundaram and Master Vasanth. Produced by S. P. B. Charan's Capital Film Works, the film features critically acclaimed musical score by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography by P.S. Vinod and editing handled by the duo Praveen K. L. and N. B. Srikanth.

The film was launched on 18 December 2008, with its principal photography being completed by late 2009, which was followed by a lengthy post-production phase. It ran into difficulties as the regional censor board in Chennai raised objection against the film, giving it an adult rating besides demanding 52 cuts.[3] After screening at and becoming approved by the Tribunal in Delhi, the film was released worldwide on 10 June 2011,[6] to high critical acclaim but underperformed at box-office. Despite its failure, it gained recognition over the years, and now it is regarded as a cult film in Tamil and Indian cinema.

It had its world première on 30 October 2010 at the South Asian International Film Festival,[7] where it won the Grand Jury Award for Best Film.[8][9] Subsequently, the film was honoured with two National Film Awards for Best Editing and Best First Film of a Director category respectively.

Cast
Jackie Shroff as Singaperumal/Ayya
Ravi Krishna as Sappai
Sampath Raj as Pasupathy
Yasmin Ponnappa as Subbu
Guru Somasundaram as Kaalayan
Master Vasanth as Kodukkapuli
Boxer Arumugam as Gajendran
Sai Dheena as Gajapathy
Ajay Raj as Chittu
Jayashree as Kasthuri
Shakul Master as Magilvaganam
Sugunthan as Mullu
Alex as Nagaraj
Ramesh as Mottai
Dinesh Subbarayan as Robin
K. Karthikeyan as Shop Owner
Pudhupettai Suresh as Drug Dealer
Five Star Krishna as Astrologer

Directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Written by Thiagarajan Kumararaja
Produced by S. P. B. Charan
Starring Jackie Shroff
Ravi Krishna
Sampath Raj
Yasmin Ponnappa
Guru Somasundaram
Cinematography P. S. Vinod
Edited by Praveen K. L.
N. B. Srikanth
Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production
company
Capital Film Works
Release dates
30 October 2010 (SAIFF)
10 June 2011 (India)
Running time 116 minutes(censored) 126 minutes (uncut) [1]
Country India
Language Tamil
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