Indian (1996 film)

Indian is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film directed by Shankar and produced by Sri Surya Movies, The movie stars Kamal Haasan in the titular role, alongside an ensemble cast. Set in different timelines, it follows Senapathy, an aging freedom fighter turned vigilante, known as "Indian", who fights against corruption. The film stars Kamal Haasan in dual roles, alongside Manisha Koirala, Urmila Matondkar, Sukanya, Manorama, Goundamani, Senthil, Nedumudi Venu, Kasthuri, Nizhalgal Ravi and Ajay Rathnam. It is the first instalment in the Indian film series. The music was composed by A. R. Rahman, while cinematography and editing were handled by Jeeva and B. Lenin-V. T. Vijayan. In the film, Senapathy, a retired freedom fighter rebels against corruption in India, which puts him in conflict with his son Chandru, who lives by corruption.

Indian was released on 9 May 1996 worldwide and became the highest-grossing Tamil film upon release. It also helped popularise varma kalai, the martial art practised by the title character. The filmwas selected by India as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 1996, but was not nominated. It won three National Film Awards, including Best Actor (Haasan), two South Filmfare Awards and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. It was partially reshot in Hindi as Hindustani with Manorama being replaced by Aruna Irani and released on 23 August 1996. A sequel titled Indian 2 was released in 2024 but the sequel became a commercial failure.