Siruthai

Siruthai is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Siva, who is also one of its co-writers. It is a remake of the 2006 Telugu film Vikramarkudu, directed by S. S. Rajamouli. It stars Karthi playing dual roles, alongside Tamannaah Bhatia and comedian Santhanam. The film was produced by K. E. Gnanavelraja and features music by Vidyasagar. The story revolves around "Rocket" Raja, a petty thief who comes across a little girl says that he's her father. When he learns the truth about his lookalike Rathnavel Pandian, who's an honest cop, he decides to turn a new leaf and help get rid of a crime gang.

It was released during Pongal on 14 January 2011. Generally the film got positive responses, and was a success at the box office. The film was remade in Bengali-language in 2012 as Bikram Singha: The Lion Is Back. In 2024, the film made its official debut on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom.

Plot
Rocket Raja is a pickpocket in Chennai who steals anything he comes across with his partner, Kaatu Poochi. He enjoys his life to its fullest and goes to rob a marriage function. There, he meets Swetha, and she sexually arouses him and pinches her hip, to which she reciprocates. However, his life changes when a small girl named Divya Rathinavel ends up in his care; she says that Rocket Raja looks exactly like her father, DSP Rathinavel Pandian IPS.

Ratnavel's colleague informs Raja about the girl's past. Rathinavel is an honest policeman who is a nightmare to criminals. The gang of criminals in the village of Devi Pattinam, Andhra Pradesh, are intent on killing him and his daughter because he killed the son of a prominent criminal, Bavuji, who also sexually abused women. Rathinavel's colleagues put Divya in Raja's care so the criminals could not take her. Rathinavel is on the verge of death following a gunshot to his head.

At first, Raja is angry with Divya and breaks her tape recorder. Divya is happy and hugs him after he repairs it. When Swetha comes to Raja's home with her parents, she sees Divya and thinks that she is the daughter of Raja and breaks up with him. Rathinavel is intent on fighting back. Unfortunately, he dies following a battle with several criminals chasing Raja and Divya. After finding out about Rathinavel from the police officers, Raja realises that Rathinavel was an honest and courageous police officer who stood against Bavuji and his family, who had cruelly ruled a village. Rathinavel even manages to make his son die and stop their criminal acts. He also manages to fail Bavuji's brother, Badra, but he gets shot when he tries to save a child.

Upon seeing his courage, Raja, with the help of Rathinavel's colleagues, steps into Rathinavel's shoes and finishes his unfinished work as he is a thug and destroys all their properties with the help of Kaatu Poochi in a hilarious way. There, Swetha sees Raja, but he tries to escape from Swetha because he is now Rathinavel, so Swetha seduces him, which he tries to control himself but to no avail. She apologises to him for learning the truth about Divya & her father, Rathinavel, and they reconcile. Raja then resumes his mission, kills the baddies and takes on the responsibility of caring for Divya with Swetha's help.

Production
In 2008, reports emerged that Vikramarkudu would be remade in Tamil with Karthi. Anushka, who acted in original, was considered for the female lead. Suraj of Thalai Nagaram was said to be the director. V. V. Kathir who directed Jiiva starrer Thenavattu was also announced as director but Sivakumar advised Karthi to do strong characters before making a mark as action hero thus the project was dropped. The project was revived in 2010 and Siva, who directed films like Souryam and Sankham, was selected as director making his debut in Tamil. Tamannaah Bhatia was chosen as heroine after Paiyaa.

Music
The soundtrack album to the film was composed by Vidyasagar and features five songs. It was described as "bland" by Rediff.com, while Sify called it "catchy and youthful". Behindwoods gave a 2.5/5 rating, claiming that it "emphasizes the fact that it is a commercial entertainer. This may not be Vidyasagar's best album but he has given what the movie requires: A crisp album with short and sweet songs [...] Siruthai is a worthy listen to and must appeal to Karthi's fans is a huge way".

Critical response
Behindwoods gave a 2/5 rating and wrote: "Watch Siruthai if you are a hardcore mass masala fan. Since the originality of the Telugu version is retained, when released in Andhra this movie might serve as Karthi’s launch pad in Tollywood. Chances are that you might like Karthi, who is trying his best to prevent the movie from its impending dive into the depths of hackneyed void." Sify claimed that Siruthai had "come out as a festival bonanza for Tamil film goers. It is an unpretentious commercial pot boiler with ample doses of romance, comedy, action and emotion". Indiaglitz, another portal said "'Siruthai' is fit and fine for a good leap. With Karthi trying new vistas not missing out on the entertainment quotient, it is an obvious sweet pongal for masses this Pongal. Action and satisfaction is what 'Siruthai' is". N. Venkateswaran from The Times of India deemed a score of 2.5/5, citing that it "does not do anything for Karthi as an actor; what it does is to cement his position in the Tamil film industry as an actor who is a big draw at the box office". Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu noted: "Generally, well-told cop stories don't bite the dust. Nor do dual role bonanzas. Going by the norm, this Siruthai should charge ahead!" Chennai Online stated: "Though the formula used in the flick could appeal to the masses, the director could have thought of some fresh sequences to make the movie more exciting". Oneindia remarked: "You can watch the film with your family because of the entertaining elements. It has a perfect mix of romance, action, fun, comedy, glamour and sentiments. It is a perfect Pongal treat for Kollywood audience. Do not miss this movie".