Thuppakki

Thuppakki
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAR Murugadoss
Written byAR Murugadoss
Produced byKalaipuli S. Thanu
Starring
CinematographySantosh Sivan
Edited byA. Sreekar Prasad
Music byHarris Jayaraj
Production
company
Distributed byGemini Film Circuit
Release date
  • 13 November 2012 (2012-11-13)
Running time
170 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Box office₹121 crore

Thuppakki (/θuppɑːkki/ transl.Gun) is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. Produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu, the film stars Vijay and Kajal Aggarwal, with Sathyan, Vidyut Jammwal, Jayaram, Manobala and Zakir Hussain in supporting roles. It revolves around an intelligence officer in the Indian Army, who seeks to track down, destroy and deactivate a sleeper cell, after witnessing and barely escaping a bombing carried out by the cell.

The project, which marked the beginning of a collaboration between Vijay and Murugadoss, was reported in July 2011, and the film's title was formally announced that December. Principal photography commenced in January 2012 and ended that October. Filming mostly took place in Mumbai, except for two song sequences which were filmed in Bangkok and Switzerland respectively. The film's soundtrack was composed by Harris Jayaraj with cinematography handled primarily by Santosh Sivan and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad.

Thuppakki was released on 13 November 2012, Diwali day, and distributed by Gemini Film Circuit. The film went through numerous controversies, including protests from Islamic fringe groups who objected to the portrayal of the Islamic community in the film. Nevertheless, it received mostly positive reviews and became a major commercial success. A recipient of various accolades, the film received seven Filmfare Awards South nominations in the Tamil branch, but did not win in any category. In 2014, the film was remade in Bengali as Game and in Hindi as Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty by the same director.