Anegan

Anegan (lit. 'Man with several shadows') is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language period romantic thriller film co-written and directed by K. V. Anand and produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram, S. Ganesh, and S. Suresh under the banner of AGS Entertainment. The film features an ensemble cast starring Dhanush and Amyra Dastur in quadruple roles, while Karthik, Ashish Vidyarthi, Aishwarya Devan, Mukesh Tiwari and Jagan appear in supporting roles. The plot of this story is inspired by the 1963 film Nenjam Marapathillai. The film's title is based on Thiruvasagam, which was written by poet Manikkavacakar. Set in four different time periods, the film is based on the theme of reincarnation, which revolves around Ashwin (Dhanush) and Madhu (Amyra Dastur) who were lovers in their past lives, have been brought together in the present.

Principal photography commenced on 2 September 2013 at Puducherry. Filming continued in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Burma, and some parts of India. and was completed on 15 September 2014. The film features music composed by Harris Jayaraj, with cinematography handled by Om Prakash and editing done by Anthony. The visual effects were handled by V. Srinivas Mohan.

After multiple postponements, Anegan was released on 13 February 2015 to positive reviews from critics who praised its visual style, music, narration, plot, and cast performances (especially Dhanush, Karthik and Amyra). The film was commercially successful at the box office. The film's Telugu dubbed version titled Anekudu was released on 27 February 2015. In 2016, the film was dubbed into Hindi as Anek by Goldmines Telefilms Pvt Ltd. In 2019, the film was dubbed into Bengali as Mon Majhi Re. In 2023, the film was dubbed into Malayalam with the same title.

Plot
In 1960s, Murugappa alias Munaruna is a Tamil worker in Burma. Munaruna's friend Saamuda falls in love with Mallika, but Mallika loves Munaruna. Munaruna saves Samudra, the daughter of a Burmese army general, from a Ferris wheel accident and they fall in love. After learning about this, Mallika is devastated and marries Saamuda. The Burmese general disapproves of the union between Munaruna and Samudra, and revokes the privileges that the Tamil immigrants had until then. Violence breaks out and the Tamil nationals flee Burma. Munaruna and Samudra join the refugees on a ship with Saamuda and Mallika. Samudra's father arrives looking for her, where Mallika spitefully reveals about their hideout. As Samudra and Munaruna try to escape by diving into the ocean, Munaruna is shot and killed. Samudra handcuffs herself to Munaruna and drowns with him after promising to be together forever.

In present-day India, Samudra, who is now known as Madhu, tells her psychiatrist Dr. Radhika that she has already met Samudra and Mallika as Jagan and Meera, who are fellow programmers in the game development company where she works. Radhika dismisses this as work stress and gives medicines to Madhu. Madhu meets Ashwin, a new employee in her company, and seeing his resemblance to Munaruna, flirts with him. Their boss Kiran knows to extract work from employees with ease. Meera hallucinates about ghosts trying to assault her, where she jumps from the office window and dies. Madhu is disturbed and attends her therapy sessions with Radhika when she remembers her first birth where she was a princess named Shenbagavalli and was in love with a king named Ilamaran, who also resembles Ashwin. The two are killed by a traitorous officer in Ilamaran's army.

Madhu and Ashwin meet with a car accident, where Madhu is admitted to a hospital. Madhu dreams about overhearing Inspector Gopinath's conversation about a couple named Kaali and Kalyani, when she intervenes and says that she knows their whereabouts. Once awake, Madhu recites the dream to the policemen in the hospital and they are confused. Gopinath, who is the present police commissioner, visits her and Madhu realizes that he looks like the same police officer from her dream in the hospital. Gopinath tells that the Kaali-Kalyani story was a missing person case that happened 25 years ago. Madhu claims that Kaali and Kalyani were killed and buried and takes Gopinath and Ashwin to a place where they dig up and find skeletons identified as remains of Kaali and Kalyani. Gopinath finds a ring engraved with the letter R on one of the skeletons. Ashwin is confused as to what R may mean.

Kiran hears about her hallucinations and rushes to the clinic. Madhu hallucinates about her third birth, where she is Kalyani, a brahmin girl who falls in love with a goon called Kaali. Kalyani tells Kaali to confess his crimes and serve out his time in prison in return for her hand in marriage. Kalyani's father Murthy is displeased and forcefully arranges her marriage with Ravi while Kaali is in prison. Kaali escapes from prison and meets Kalyani and they plan to elope, but Ravi finds out and offers to help them. However, Ravi takes them to a secluded spot, where he murders the couple out of jealousy and buries them. The finger with the ring belongs to Ravi and it was amputated by Kaali during the fight. Ravi unknowingly buries it along with Kaali's and Kalyani's corpses. Back to the present, Madhu learns the truth of Kaali and Kalyani's death from Murthy. Suddenly, a twist occurs where it shows that Ravi is Kiran. Kiran kidnaps Madhu and kills Murthy. Ashwin finds video games with plots resembling the stories of Madhu's previous births and Meera's hallucination before her death. Ashwin saves Radhika from Kiran's goons who tried to kill her. Radhika reveals that Kiran has been giving illegal drugs to his employees to boost their creativity in order to profit with intense and uniquely themed games. As a side effect of the drug, the employees hallucinate, leading to Madhu's memories of her "past lives" and the recalling of the story of Kalyani as her own. Along with Radhika, Ashwin goes to Gopinath's office to reveal about Kiran's illegal activites. But on the way Kiran's men attacks them again and it results in Radhika's death.

Ashwin reaches Kiran's lair to save Madhu. A fight ensues, where Ashwin manages to confront and defeat Kiran and his men. Kiran is killed when a knife Ashwin threw into a tree falls onto his chest. Gopinath covers up the death as a suicide with Ashwin's help, stating that Kiran killed himself for fear of dealing with the repercussions of his illegal activities. Ashwin and Madhu marry and honeymoon in Burma. As they playfully argue over whether Madhu's dreams had all been hallucinations or partly true, Ashwin and Madhu pass by a log with a heart and the names of Munaruna and Samudra carved into it.

Cast

 * Dhanush in four roles as;
 * Ashwin, a young man who works at Kiran's company in the system admin department and falls in love with Madhu
 * Kaaliswaran (Kaali), A painter in Madras 1987 who falls in love with Kalyani
 * Murugappa (Munaruna), A construction worker in Burma in 1962 and Samudra's lover
 * (Ilamaran), King Ilamaran in ancient Tamil Nadu (portrait in 'Roja Kadale' song only)
 * Karthik as Ravikiran (Kiran), MD of a Gaming Company, the main antagonist
 * Amyra Dastur in four roles as:
 * Madhumitha, a game designer at Kiran's company who falls in love with Ashwin
 * Samudra, a school student in Burma in 1962 who falls in love with Munaruna
 * Kalyani, a social activist in Madras 1987 who falls in love with Kaali
 * Shenbagavalli, Princess in ancient Tamil Nadu (portrait in 'Roja Kadale' song only)
 * Aishwarya Devan in a dual role as:
 * Meera, a co-worker with Madhu
 * Mallika, Munaruna's one-side lover, and Saamuda's wife
 * Ashish Vidyarthi in a dual role as:
 * Gopinath, Inspector of Police in Madras 1987 and later promoted as Commissioner in Chennai city,
 * Rana, head soldier of King Ilamaran in ancient Tamil Nadu (portrait in 'Roja Kadale' song only)
 * Jagan in dual roles as:
 * Jagan, co-worker with Ashwin and Madhu
 * Saamuda, Munaruna's friend in Burma in 1962
 * Mukesh Tiwari in a dual role as:
 * Burma Police Officer in 1962 and Samudra's father
 * Radhakrishnan, Madhu's uncle in present
 * Thalaivasal Vijay as Moorthy, Kalyani's father
 * Vinaya Prasad as Madhumitha's mother
 * Lena as Dr. Radhika and a woman in Burma who was fighting with an officer
 * Shankar Krishnamurthy as Ashwin's father
 * D. R. K. Kiran as Ranjith, Kiran's goon
 * Revathi Sankar as Ravikiran's mother
 * Veera Santhanam as Guruji
 * K.R.G Sharad as Genie
 * Bhawana Aneja as Samudra's mother (of Tamil descent) in Burma 1962
 * Baby Vedhika
 * Rajesh Milton
 * Pankaj Rajan
 * Baba Bhaskar (special appearance in the song "Danga Maari Oodhari")

Development
Initially, K. V. Anand, narrated the story to Vijay first, but he could not commit the project, due to date issues, and suggested Dhanush's name. In May 2013, K. V. Anand stated that he would collaborate with Dhanush for his next film, which Dhanush confirmed on his social network page. Anand joined hands with AGS Entertainment for the second time after Maattraan (2012), and it was confirmed that the production company would also distribute the film worldwide. Though it was rumoured to be titled as Thaara Thappatta Ready, it was later dismissed by the director. Dhanush was said to appear in four different looks in the film, and that he would not be playing the "moody-sombre" type-role he played in his previous films like Mayakkam Enna (2011). The film, a romantic entertainer laced with action was titled Anegan, meaning "the man with many shadows", according to Tamil poet Manikkavacakar, from his volume, Tiruvacakam. It was revealed that the story comprises multiple period set-ups, and in one of the segments, Dhanush goes back to his previous birth. The technical crew consisted of cinematography by Om Prakash, editing by Anthony, action by Kanal Kannan and the dialogues were written by Subha. As with most K. V. Anand films, Harris Jayaraj was once again signed to compose the musical score.

Casting
Alia Bhatt was rumoured to be playing the lead, before Amyra Dastur, a model who made her film debut in Issaq (2013) was later cast opposite Dhanush. In preparation for her role, she was asked to see Tamil films and also took Tamil lessons from Dhanush to get her dialogues right. Amyra was further reported to be performing stunts for the film. In an interview to IANS, Amyra said that she would portray three different roles in the film. Karthik was signed to play the role of a love guru to Dhanush, for a part, similar to the role portrayed by Santhanam in Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013), and also sport a look similar to that of Ajith's look in Mankatha (2011). Baby Vedhika of Nirnayam (2013) fame is also playing a role. Actress Aishwarya Devan was selected to play the second heroine in the film. Actors Atul Kulkarni and Ashish Vidyarthi were selected to play supporting roles. Malayalam actress Lena was also selected to play a supporting role in the film.

Characters
Dhanush was said to appear in four different looks in the film since the film is set across different time periods. Furthermore, K. V. Anand had stated that Dhanush will be sporting a hairdo, for the character King Ilamaran, similar to Kamal Haasan's look in the film, Tik Tik Tik (1981).

Filming
Principal photography began on 2 September 2013 at Puducherry. It was reported that the film would be shot across locations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Burma among many other countries. In Malaysia, a football game scene was shot in the oldest English school in South East Asia, Penang Free School. The second schedule took place in Hyderabad. where a song sequence was choreographed by Baba Baskar. According to unit members, Amyra stunned the unit with her perfect lip sync for Tamil dialogues and that she overshadowed the hero in some places as well. By 29 May 2014, 90% of the movie was shot, including 3 song sequences. Another song sequence and part of the climax were shot on a farmland, spread over 100 acres, near Puducherry. During the process of shooting the climax, which was reported to be a racy stunt sequence, Dhanush injured his leg severely, because of which shooting was halted for 3 weeks, after which Dhanush recovered and shooting proceeded as scheduled. The team then went to Scotland to shoot for a song sequence. In mid-August 2014, the filming was almost done with just a song left to be shot in Chennai on 1 September 2014. On 26 August 2014, Dhanush stated that he had started dubbing for the film. On 15 September 2014, Anand confirmed that the shooting of the film was completed.

Themes and influences
M. Suganth of The Times of India in his review stated that the film "[had] traces of Magadheera, Enakkul Oruvan, Cloud Atlas and The Fountain" but attributed the comparison "mainly due to the reincarnation theme."

Music
The film's soundtrack is scored by K. V. Anand's regular collaborator Harris Jayaraj, which was his first and only collaboration with Dhanush. The soundtrack album features six tracks, written by Vairamuthu, Kabilan Vairamuthu, Rokesh and C. S. Amudhan. Recording of the songs took place within April to August 2014. The album was released by Sony Music on 1 November 2014, through iTunes and later released at a launch event held on 2 November 2014, at the Suryan FM 93.5 Radio Station, in the presence of the film's cast and crew. The soundtrack album received positive reviews, and the song "Danga Maari Oodhari" became a chartbuster upon release.

Marketing
The first look poster was released on 1 September 2013. The title font was designed to resemble a gamepad. A new title design and additional stills and posters were made available on 24 October 2013. The official teaser of the film was released on 22 October 2014, coinciding with Diwali. The official trailer was released on 13 January 2015.

Theatrical
Anegan was touted to be one of the biggest film release for Dhanush. Initially, the film was rumoured to be released on 22 October 2014, coinciding with Diwali. However, the makers announced that, the film will not be released on Diwali, clashing with Vijay-starrer Kaththi and Vishal-starrer Poojai, which was scheduled to release on the same date. In September 2014, the makers announced that the film would be released in November 2014. Furthermore, the uncertainty over the release of Rajinikanth-starrer Lingaa, and Vikram-starrer I, led the makers to push the film's release after Pongal, which falls on 15 January 2015. In December 2014, the film cleared the censors. The film was later scheduled to release on 29 January 2015, but due to the release of Ajith Kumar-starrer Yennai Arindhaal (2015), which was postponed to 6 February 2015, the makers pushed its release to end February. Since the 2015 Cricket World Cup, is scheduled to be held from 14 February 2015 in Australia, the makers brought forward its release to 13 February 2015, which also coincides with the Valentine's Day weekend.

Before its release being delayed to 2015, the film was listed by Behindwoods in its "Top 10 most Anticipated films of 2014". The film opened in nearly 1000 screens worldwide, plus 500 screens in Tamil Nadu, making it the biggest release in Dhanush film. The film got exemption from entertainment tax levied by the state government.

Distribution
The film's Tamil Nadu distribution rights, were bought by Dhanush's home banner, Wunderbar Films. The Kerala distribution rights were bought by E4 Entertainment. Fox Star Studios, acquired the Karnataka distribution rights. The overseas rights were bought by Ayngaran International. In US, Atmus Entertainment bought the distribution rights, and released in 160 screens. The film was dubbed in Telugu as Anekudu, and was released on 27 February 2015.

Home media
The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV.

Television broadcast
The film's television premiere took place on 14 April 2015, coinciding with Tamil New Year festival. This caused their fans becoming displeased, and requested to postpone the premiere of the film. Despite that, the channel went ahead with the premiere.

Box office
The film collected inr 160000000 in second day, inr 230000000 in third day and inr 530000000 in first weekend. The film collected inr 430000000 in Tamil Nadu, inr 260000000 in Andhra Pradesh, inr 140000000 in Kerala and inr 130000000 in Karnataka. The film grossed inr 550000000 in the second weekend.

Critical response
M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and stated, "Anegan is pure camp but also a hugely entertaining one". Nicy V.P of The International Business Times rated it 3 stars out of 5 and wrote "Anegan is a brilliant attempt by KV Anand, he tried a new visual style to tell his story and to an extent he was successful too". Udhav Naig of The Hindu wrote, "With most commercial films recycling the usual plot and its many tropes, full credit to K.V. Anand for striving to narrate a banal plot – full of déjà vu and clichés – in an enterprising manner." Another reviewer Sudhir Srinivasan wrote "Anegan...is a complex story told simplistically. Had the complexity been retained, and had the masala spoon been of lesser size, it would have made for a great film. For now, though, it will have to satisfy itself with being a hit film." Rediff.com stated, "The narrative technique and interesting screenplay keep things moving at a brisk pace. But on the downside, there are far too many songs and several unanswered questions". Sify wrote, "Gorgeously shot, crisply edited, and handsomely mounted, KV Anand's Anegan is a fast-paced rollicking adventure ride that is gripping till the very end".

Indiaglitz rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote "Although not a masala perse, Anegan savours all tastes. There is action, a little bit of revenge, lighthearted comedy, smothering love, all served with a twist from the usual." Behindwoods.com rated it 2.75 out of 5 and stated "Though there are lots of questions which can be raised on the story and happenings, the overall screenplay and editing keeps you engaged by and large." Gautaman Bhaskaran of The Hindustan Times rated it 2 stars out of 5 and stated "If Anegan is a mishmash of many films that one has seen over the years, the performances are passé. Yes, a new look Karthik may be a novelty, but Dhanush appears to be disinterested in changing his style or his roles."