The Terrorist (1997 film) - Revision history

BXIBerniece: reworked article for clarity based on references

2022-01-07T23:21:22Z

reworked article for clarity based on references

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{About|the 1998 Indian film|other films with similar titles|Terrorist (disambiguation)}}
+#REDIRECT [[The Terrorist (1998 film)]]
-{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
-{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
+{{Redirect category shell|
-{{Infobox film
+{{R from move}}
 }}

imported>Donner60: Reverted edits by 2402:3A80:427:FB57:58E:C7D5:AF5:523D (talk): unexplained content removal (HG) (3.4.10)

2021-07-31T03:18:42Z

Reverted edits by 2402:3A80:427:FB57:58E:C7D5:AF5:523D (talk): unexplained content removal (HG) (3.4.10)

New page

{{About|the 1998 Indian film|other films with similar titles|Terrorist (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Terrorist
| image = The Terrorist.jpg
| caption = Movie poster
| native_name = {{Film name| tamil = பயங்கரவாதி}}
| director = [[Santosh Sivan]]
| producer =
| writer = [[Santosh Sivan]]
| starring = [[Ayesha Dharker]] K. Krishna Sonu Sisupal [[Vishwas]] [[Anuradha (actress)|Anuradha]]
| music = Rajamani Sonu Sisupal
| cinematography = [[Santosh Sivan]]
| editing = [[A. Sreekar Prasad]]
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1998}}
| runtime = 95 min
| country = India
| language = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| budget = $50,000
}}

'''''The Terrorist''''' ({{lang-ta|பயங்கரவாதி|translit=Bayangaravaathi|italic=yes}}) is an Indian [[Tamil cinema|Tamil]] film directed by [[Santosh Sivan]]. The film portrays a period in the life of a 19-year-old woman, Malli ([[Ayesha Dharker]]), sent to [[assassination|assassinate]] a leader in South Asia through a [[suicide bombing]]. It stars Dharker, K. Krishna and Sonu Sisupal. Released in 1998, the film was shot in 15 days, with natural lighting, on a budget of $50,000. {{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}

The film won a number of awards at international [[film festival]]s. Actor [[John Malkovich]] first saw the film at the 1998 [[Cairo International Film Festival]] and subsequently adopted the film as a kind of post-facto executive producer (the reissued film's titles read "John Malkovich Presents"). Critic [[Roger Ebert]] has included the film in his series of "Great Movies" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert |first=Roger |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-terrorist-2000 |title=The Terrorist Movie Review & Film Summary (2000) | Roger Ebert |publisher=Rogerebert.com |date=2005-07-17 |access-date=2020-06-25}}</ref> Ebert concludes his review with the following line: "Every time I see the film, I feel a great sadness, that a human imagination could be so limited that it sees its own extinction as a victory."
The film that proved his mastery over the visual language was ''The Terrorist'' which has become a textbook of sorts for visual communication students, with scenes from the movie being used by [[Michael Chapman (cinematographer)|Michael Chapman]], [[Martin Scorsese]]’s cinematographer, to explain the tenets of cinematography during workshops. According to film critic Roger Ebert, it was a film ‘scripted by the camera’. Says Sivan: "One day I got a call from Samuel Lee Jackson who was interested to cast the heroine of ''The Terrorist'', Ayesha, in a Hollywood film."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/global-nod-for-malayalam-director-santosh-sivan/264187-71-209.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323080737/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/global-nod-for-malayalam-director-santosh-sivan/264187-71-209.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-03-23 |title=Global nod for Malayalam director Santosh Sivan |publisher=Ibnlive.in.com |date=2012-06-04 |access-date=2014-03-23}}</ref>

== Plot ==
The movie focuses on a 19-year-old woman named Malli, who joined a terrorist organization at a very young age after her brother was killed in the cause. She eventually volunteers herself to become a suicide bomber in an assassination mission. As the plot moves forward, she discovers the importance of human life, after realizing she is pregnant. This causes Malli to question her determination to complete the mission.

== Cast ==
* [[Ayesha Dharker]] as Malli
* [[Vishnuvardhan (director)|Vishnu Vardhan]] as Thyagu
* Bhanu Prakash as Permual
* [[Krishna Kulasekaran|K. Krishna]] as Lover
* Sonu Sisupal as Leader
* [[Anu Vardhan|Anuradha]]

== Inspiration ==
On 21 May 1991, [[Rajiv Gandhi]] was campaigning in favour of a [[United Communist Party of India|UCPI]] candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections in [[Tamil Nadu]], when he was assassinated by a [[suicide bomber]] in the Indian town of [[Sriperumbudur]], near [[Madras]].

The suicide bomber, [[Thenmozhi Rajaratnam]] aka Dhanu, is widely believed to have been a [[Tamil Tigers|LTTE]] member. Dhanu was a cousin of Shivarasan, the supposed mastermind of the assassination. Dhanu wore the belt bomb with the explosive material in her lower back region and the power pack, two switches and the circuitry in front.

When [[Santosh Sivan]], a well-known cinematographer, wanted to make a film on terrorism and about a terrorist, he chose the above events as the inspiration for his story.

The film is not a direct biography of Dhanu, as she had a whole troupe working with her, as backup in case she failed.

== Awards ==
;Won
*1998 - [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil]] - ''The Terrorist''<ref name="asianfilmmarket2007">{{cite web|url=http://apm.asianfilmmarket.org/eng/database/view_ppp_history.asp?order_year=2007&idx=256&no=4 |title=Asian Project Market |publisher=Apm.asianfilmmarket.org |date=2009-05-28 |access-date=2014-03-23}}</ref><ref>[[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil]]</ref>
*1998 - [[National Film Award for Best Editing]] - ''The Terrorist''<ref>[[National Film Award for Best Editing#cite note-45thawardPDF-21]]</ref>
*1998 - [[Cairo International Film Festival]]- Best Director - Santosh Sivan<ref name="santoshsivan1">{{cite web|url=http://www.santoshsivan.com/html/eng_john.htm |title=John Malkovich |publisher=Santosh Sivan |access-date=2014-03-23}}</ref>
*1998 - [[Cairo International Film Festival]]- Golden Pyramid For Best film - ''The Terrorist''<ref name="santoshsivan1"/>
*1998 - [[Cairo International Film Festival]]- Best Artistic Contribution by an Actress - Ayesha Dharker<ref name="santoshsivan1"/>
*1998 - [[Sundance Film Festival]] - Best Film - ''The Terrorist''<ref name="asianfilmmarket2007"/>
*1998 - [[Toronto International Film Festival]] - Emerging Master - Santosh Sivan<ref name="asianfilmmarket2007"/>
*1999 - [[Cinemanila International Film Festival]] - Grand Jury Prize - Santosh Sivan
*1999 - [[Cinemanila International Film Festival]] - Lino Brocka Award for Best Film - Santosh Sivan
*2000 - [[Ale Kino! (television)|Ale Kino International Young Audience Film Festival]] - Poznan Goat for Best Director - Santosh Sivan
*2000 - [[Sarajevo Film Festival]] - Panorama Jury Prize for Honorable Mention - Santosh Sivan

;Nominated
*1998 - [[National Film Award for Best Actress]] - Best Actress - Ayesha Dharker
*2001 - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film

== Further reading ==
* ''Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism'' by [[Robert Pape]], Random House (24 May 2005), {{ISBN|1-4000-6317-5}}
* https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169302/plotsummary
* Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. ''Film History, An Introduction''. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2010. 624. Print. {{ISBN|978-0-07-338613-3}}

== See also ==
* [[Rajiv Gandhi assassination#Memorial and popular culture|Rajiv Gandhi assassination in popular culture]]

==Footnotes==
* http://apm.asianfilmmarket.org/eng/database/view_ppp_history.asp?order_year=2007&idx=256&no=4
* http://www.santoshsivan.com/html/eng_john.htm
* A.O., Scott. [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A04EEDA153AF937A25752C0A9669C8B63 "The Terrorist (1998)"] ''New York Times''. (2011)
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169302/fullcredits ''The Terrorist'' full credits] at IMDb,
* Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. ''Film History, An Introduction''. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2010. 624. Print. {{ISBN|978-0-07-338613-3}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.terrorist-thefilm.com/ Official Website]
* {{IMDb title|id=0169302|title=The Terrorist}}
*[http://www.santoshsivan.com/eng_mem1.htm Santosh Sivan on low budget filmmaking]
*[http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jan/13us2.htm How John Malkovich God-Fathered Sivan's The Terrorist]
*[http://www.india-today.com/jain/ Interim Report of the Jain Commission of Inquiry into the Assassination of Shri Rajiv Gandhi]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140323080737/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/global-nod-for-malayalam-director-santosh-sivan/264187-71-209.html]

{{Santosh Sivan}}
{{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilmTamil}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrorist, The}}
[[Category:1998 films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Films about terrorism in India]]
[[Category:Works about the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Civil War in film]]
[[Category:1990s Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing National Award]]
[[Category:Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Films directed by Santosh Sivan]]