Thalapathi

Thalapathi is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language gangster drama film directed and written by Mani Ratnam.

The film stars Rajinikanth, Mammootty, and Arvind Swamy in his feature-film debut, alongside Jaishankar, Amrish Puri, Srividya, Bhanupriya, Shobana, and Geetha in supporting roles.

The story is based on the friendship between Karna and Duryodhana from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, telling the tale of a courageous slum dweller who befriends a powerful gangster.

The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics written by Vaali. Santosh Sivan handled cinematography for this film shot primarily in Karnataka, which had a ₹3 crore budget at release time.