Raam (2005 film)

Raam is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language mystery thriller film written, produced and directed by Ameer. The film stars Jiiva, Gajala and Saranya Ponvannan, with Kunal Shah, Rahman, Ganja Karuppu and Murali playing supporting roles. The film was released on 4 March 2005 and became a sleeper hit. It was screened at the 2006 Cyprus International Film Festival, where it won two awards, for Best Actor and Best Musical Score, for Jiiva and Yuvan Shankar Raja, respectively. The film was critically acclaimed with praise for the performances of Jiiva and Saranya, screenplay, music and cinematography. The film was remade in Hindi as Bolo Raam (2009) and in Kannada as Huccha 2 (2018).^[1][2]

In the picturesque town of Kodaikanal, a haunting tale unfolds, centered around the intricate bond between a young man named Raam and his mother, Saradha. The narrative kicks off with a chilling scene – both Raam and his mother lying in a pool of blood. As the authorities discover Raam is still alive, they apprehend him for the alleged murder of his mother, setting the stage for a riveting investigation led by Police Inspector Umar.

The plot unravels through a gripping flashback, revealing Raam as a teenager grappling with mental health challenges, later diagnosed as autistic. His deep, almost obsessive love for his mother inadvertently entangles her in a web of troubles. Raam, with a low tolerance for wrongdoing, becomes the prime suspect in Saradha's brutal murder. As Inspector Umar meticulously probes into the lives of Raam and those connected to him, a myriad of potential motives emerge and even learns how Raam is a troubled child who once even killed an unknown person who tried to rape and marry a girl. Raam is known to have a keen sense on justice which worries his mother.

Living next door is Karthikayeni, the daughter of Sub-Inspector Malaichamy, who finds herself drawn to Raam. However, Raam's response to her affection is blunt and uncompromising. The tension escalates when Saradha is discovered murdered. Umar learns about Karthikayeni's feelings for Raam through Vaazhavandan who was a close friend of Raam and his mom. Umar interrogates her on her relationship with Raam and she reveals that her father disapproved of her feelings for Raam and even threatened her that he will arrest him on a false case after he got into an argument with Raam and his mother.

The investigation takes unexpected turns, revealing dark secrets and hidden connections. The police unravel a shocking revelation – it was Karthikayeni's brother, Satish, who committed the heinous act out of fear that Saradha would expose his drug addiction . Confronted by Saradha who threatened to call his father in revenge of his father calling Raam a mental earlier when he learned about Karthikayeni's feelings for Raam. Satish inflicts fatal harm by stabbing her with a knife in a fit of range and escapes as Saradha collapses from her wounds and dies, leaving a trail of chaos.

Amidst the turmoil, Raam, driven by a thirst for justice, discovers Satish to be the real culprit through following Umar and Malaichami after they discover Satish to be the real killer, Malaichami at first pleads Umar to let Satish go but Umar convinces him that it is not right and that Satish must face the consequences for his crime. To which Satish manages to escape once again after he kills Umar using Umar's gun and injures his father with the gun. Malaichami recovering from his wounds in a hospital tell the police on what happened and plead with them to protect Raam in any way they can from his son. A brutal confrontation ensues, culminating in Raam's triumph over the antagonist after Raam finds Satish and even though Karthikayeni who also manages to find Satish's hideout pleads with Raam to let Satish live, Raam plagued by the memories of his mother shoots Satish several times with Umar's gun killing him. The film concludes with the police closing in on the hideout, capturing the intensity of the moment as Raam meditates on a dilapidated rooftop.

Ameer revealed while he was working in Nandhaa (2001), he got to witness an incident in a local news channel where a 20 year old man sitting near his mother's corpse, feeling remorse for murdering his mother. This triggered Ameer to make a film on that incident; however he decided not to portray the son as a murderer.^[3] Jiiva who was in search of story for his third film met cinematographer Ramji who informed him that Ameer wanted to make a film with him which prompted Jiiva to meet him and agreed to act under his direction after hearing the script and character. Ameer decided to produce the film on his own after the initial producers who produced Ameer's debut Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002) backed out.^[4] To portray his character, Jiiva grew his hair long, had to remain blank and did a lot of recce and also met a person who had autism and observed his mannerisms.^[5] The filming was primarily held at Kodaikanal where sets were built on land belonging to Jiiva's family.^[4] The scene where Jiiva meditates was shot at Dolphin Nose, Kodaikanal.^[6] The film took nearly two years to complete.^[7]

The music was scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The soundtrack features seven tracks, including one instrumental. All lyrics were penned by Snehan.^[8]

Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "Crafted with care and treated with finesse, Raam is a luminous feather in the maker's cap".^[9] Visual Dasan of Kalki called Raam a miracle cure for rotten taste.^[10] M. Bharat Kumar of News Today wrote "Director Ameer needs to be applauded for coming up with a gripping emotional melodrama detailing the travails of an autistic boy, which is sure to impress movie buffs. Engrossing screenplay by the director himself, excellent cinematography by Ramjhi [sic] and good background score by Yuvan Shankar Raja add strength to the movie".^[11]

At the 2006 Cyprus International Film Festival, Jiiva won the award for Best Actor in a Feature Film, and Yuvan won for Best Musical Score in a Feature Film.^[12] He remains the only Indian to have received that award to date.^[13]

• Raam at IMDb 
• Raam at Rotten Tomatoes